From left, Councillor Luther Buchanan and attorney-at-law Don Foote, the incumbent caretaker.
Monique Hepburn, News Editor
WESTERN BUREAU:
WHILE THE race to fill the Eastern Westmoreland constituency seat, recently vacated by former Prime Minister P.J. Patterson, intensifies, there is now turmoil within the ranks of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) as to who should be its representative.
Attorney-at-law Don Foote, the incumbent caretaker, is convinced that efforts by businessman Pete Manboard to prompt a run-off against him on April 23 will only stymie delegates, thwarting the JLP's chance of beating the People's National Party (PNP).
"The party constitution stipulates that for there to be a run-off against the sitting candidate/caretaker, the challenger is supposed to get 33 per cent of the delegates' votes," Don Foote told The Sunday Gleaner. "I am not aware that Pete Manboard has 30 per cent of the delegates' votes so I find it very strange that there will be a selection. Indeed, I have about 80 per cent of the delegates saying that they are not interested in any run-off for another candidate at this stage.
"We are too close to a by-election. It will divide the delegates. I am not afraid of a challenge because I can shrug off any challenge from anyone. I am well grounded with the delegates."
On the contrary, Mr. Manboard said that his entry into the race at this time is not a ploy to offset the JLP's chances, but merely a response to requests from delegates to represent them.
MANDATE FROM THE PEOPLE
"I have chosen to run again because it is a mandate from the people," he said. "They have asked me because they are not comfortable with the incumbent."
"It was not a personal decision that I made. The call came from the people."
Turning his attention to the PNP and its caretaker, Councillor Luther Buchanan, Mr. Manboard said that it is his intention to quash the perception that with Portia Simpson Miller at the helm of the PNP, the JLP is set to remain in the political wilderness.
"There is a perception [that] because of the Portia Simpson syndrome, the JLP will not stand a chance, but there has for a long time been the perception that the former Prime Minister did not represent the constituency very well. People are calling for a change. Mr. Buchanan is a popular person but we want a change."
Dr. Horace Chang, JLP deputy leader, said the process of selecting a candidate is a democratic one, and that Mr. Manboard, should he get the required percentage support from the delegates, is qualified to stand in a run-off.
DEMOCRATIC PROCESS
"Mr. Manboard has the right to apply. He has satisfied the party's regulations. If he is to withdraw, he has until the weekend to do so. It is a democratic process and I don't expect a division at the end of the day."
Dismissing his opponents, Luther Buchanan says that there are no questions surrounding the PNP's expected victory and that it is only a matter of the margin. The date of the by-election has not been released, however, analysts have predicted that Prime Minister Simpson Miller will not go beyond May in setting a date.
"The constituency is accustomed to structured development as opposed to the 1980s when the Jamaica Labour Party reigned and trees grew in the middle of the roadways," Mr. Buchanan said.
"The long and short of it is that the people understand development and that the JLP has nothing to offer. They have no vision. Right now they are very divided and cannot even decide among themselves who will take the political backsiding from the PNP."
