Dionne Rose, Staff Reporter

Robertson (left) and Samuda (right)

Today will be a celebratory one for the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) as it goes into its annual conference having won the recent general election after 18 years in Opposition.

For veteran politician Pearnel Charles, who has seen his party in government in the 1980s and 18 years in Opposition, the win at the polls in September was only possible through "divine intervention".

"It was divine intervention that has moved us out of that (Opposition) into what I call a new government," he tells The Sunday Gleaner. "I just hope and pray that ... we will live up to what the people expect from us and try hard to move the country forward."

Charles says this conference will be a special one for the JLP. "I think that the majority of our supporters will be in a celebratory mood, but the leaders are aware of the challenge that is ahead," he remarks.

Karl Samuda, general secretary of the JLP, says today's conference will be an upbeat one for members of the JLP. He has attributed the party's edge over the People's National Party (PNP) at the polls to teamwork.

"It was the determination to work as a team, to be positive in outlook, to be focused and to be united," he explains. "Since Bruce Golding took over the leadership of the party, it has grown from strength to strength in that regard."

He says it was difficult for the People's National Party to pull off a win in the just-concluded election because they faced a JLP team which was very strong, united and focused.

"We ran a very well-organised, well-oiled machinery and the results were there for anyone to see," he said. "It is never easy to defeat a party that has been in government for so many years because they entrenched themselves, and so you had to be very strong."

Hopes for a repeat win

Samuda hopes the Labour party will repeat this win at the local government election planned for December 5.

"It is a very special conference in that local government elections have been announced and therefore, we are going into this conference with our tail feathers up," he states.

For younger politicians such as James Robertson, today's conference will be used to celebrate the win at the polls and to prepare for the upcoming local government election.

"Going to this conference, we are very upbeat. We are going to local government elections with the wind in our sail," Robertson said. "And all indications are that it is going to be a very enlightened conference. The level of presentations, we believe, is going to be at a superior level."

dionne.rose@gleanerjm.com