The arrest last week of Kern Spencer, a junior minister in the previous People's National Party (PNP) government, has flung the party into crisis as it struggles to minimise the fallout from the Cuban light bulb saga.

Senior party members spent most of last week trying to decide how to handle the now out-on-bail Spencer.

That decision is to be presented to the PNP's executive meeting tomorrow, but already it is clear that there is no consensus on how to proceed.

Clearing his name

Last week, news broke that the leadership of the PNP had decided that Spencer should resign his seat in the House of Representatives and concentrate on clearing his name. According to the reports, the party had prepared a resignation letter and was only waiting on Spencer to sign it.

But this was quickly dismissed by Chairman Robert Pickersgill, the person mandated to speak on the issue.

"That is nonsense. The party has no authority to tell a MP to resign. This is not like the prime minister or the opposition leader and the Cabinet," Pickersgill said. "The position of the leadership will be conveyed to the executive (tomorrow) and we will take it from there."

Pickersgill offered a "no comment" when asked about the implications of Spencer staying on as an MP or resigning while this cloud remains over his head.

But another senior member of the party had no such reservations. He was adamant that Spencer would have to resign.

"It's inevitable. He won't be able to deal with his constituency with this thing hanging over him."

The senior party man who assisted Spencer in his campaign in the lead up to the 2007 general election, said he would not go public with his position until after the executive meeting tomorrow.

Spencer entered the House last year after he won the North East St Elizabeth seat in the general election.

He polled 9,047 votes to defeat the JLP's Coris Samuels who polled 6,909 votes.

The victory margin was less than the 3,000 vote advantage recorded by Roger Clarke in the constituency in 2002 and has left the Jamaica Labour Party confident of winning the seat if there is a by-election.

On Friday, Samuels, who remains the JLP's caretaker in the constituency, refused to join the speculation about whether or not Spencer would resign.

Possible by-election

However, he made it clear that he was ready for a possible by-election.

"It's a traditional PNP seat but my machinery is up and ready for any eventuality", Samuels said.

The PNP has held the North East St Elizabeth seat since 1989 when Sydney Pagon defeated the JLP's Hugh Dawes.

Pagon gave way to Roger Clarke in 1993 who romped to an easy victory in the general election of that year and retained it twice.

With Clarke indicating that he was leaving representational politics, the seat was handed over to one of the 'rising stars' in the party - Kern Spencer.

arthur.hall@gleanerjm.com