Delano Franklyn, ContributorOn September 20, Portia Simpson Miller will either be returned or be replaced by Peter Phillips as president of the People's National Party (PNP).
It is the first time that an incumbent president of the party is being challenged for that position. This is one of the many firsts which have occurred within the party in recent times.
When the PNP won the national election in 2002, it was the first time that the party was winning four consecutive national elections. It was also the first time that the same president, in that case, P. J. Patterson, was leading the party to three consecutive election victories. From 1989-2007, the party enjoyed 18 consecutive years in office, which is unprecedented in the history of any political party in Jamaica.
The first time
When Roger Clarke lost as a vice-president and was made vice-president emeritus in 2005 by the leadership of the party, it was the first such position in the party. When Colin Campbell, Julian Robinson, Linton Walters and Maureen Webber were elected deputy general secretaries in 2003, it was the first time that the party was operating with four deputy general secretaries.
When P. J. Patterson retired from office in 2006, it was the first time that a president of the party was relinquishing that position without being forced to do so by ill health. Neither Norman Manley nor Michael Manley voluntarily relinquished their position. They were influenced by the frailties of the human body.
When Omar Davies, Karl Blythe, Peter Phillips and Portia Simpson Miller contested the presidency of the party in February 2006, it was the first time that so many contenders were vying for the position of president of the PNP. When Portia Simpson Miller won the presidency with 47 per cent of the delegates' vote, it was the first time that any president of the party was assuming its leadership with the support of less than 50 per cent of the delegates.
True democratic traditions
When Peter Phillips, as a presidential contender in 2006, gained 45 per cent of the vote, to command second position, it was the first time in the history of the party that a losing presidential candidate had gained such a high percentage of the delegates' vote. This was far in excess of what Vivian Blake gained when he ran against Michael Manley in 1969 and Portia Simpson Miller received when she ran against P. J. Patterson in 1992.
When the polls indicated in 2006 that Portia Simpson Miller was enjoying a 78 per cent popular support among the people, this was unprecedented. She was at the time - using polling data as a guide - even more popular than the late Michael Manley at his peak of 62 per cent popularity, as declared by the Carl Stone polls in 1976.
Of course, when Portia Simpson Miller became the president of the party in 2006, she was the first woman to do so and later, when she was sworn in as prime minister, she became the first woman to do so. Her stint as prime minister, from March 2006 to September 2007, a period of 18 months, became the shortest reign of any prime minister, surpassed only by Donald Sangster whose stint as prime minister was shortened by his untimely death in 1967.
The decision by Peter Phillips to challenge Portia Simpson Miller is, therefore, one of many firsts to have been experienced by the party in recent times. These firsts reflect the true democratic traditions of the party and its ability to handle unprecedented developments, despite the inflamed passion, increased agitation, robust debates and strident representation by the different sides, which at times accompanied these changes.
The party, which is currently marking its 70th year, has demonstrated the capacity, the experience and the ability to deal with the dynamics of such internal developments.
Previous hurdles
In 1952, Norman Manley took the heart-wrenching decision to expel four of the party's best organisers. Some thought that Norman Manley's action would have resulted in the death of the party. Instead, it got new life and went on to win its first national election in 1955.
Between 1977 and 1979, the party, then in government, with its leadership lurching from left to right and right to left, lost the election in 1980. Despite the challenges faced by the PNP then, it took a combination of local and international forces to defeat the party. By 1982, the PNP, again using the polling data of Carl Stone, had regained sufficient strength among the people to put the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) on the defensive. Seaga used the unfortunate circumstances in Grenada in 1983 to try and regain his footing. On a point of principle, the PNP boycotted the 1983 election, but Seaga and the JLP were never able to recover and by 1989, they were voted out of office.
The 47 per cent delegate support for Portia Simpson Miller and the 45 per cent support for Peter Phillips in 2006 left the party divided. It was an open secret and it is unfortunate that the breach could not have been repaired, because the party needs the services of two excellent Comrades who have served the party faithfully over the years. They both have their strengths and weaknesses, like any of us. Not being able to resolve the 'quiet' divide which existed, it had to come to a head at some point.
Traditional role
The party, as it has done in the past, will also survive this chapter in its life. While much will be required by the victor to pull the party together, the one who comes second in this leadership race will be equally responsible to ensure that the party assumes its traditional role of being the vanguard of the people.
Portia Simpson Miller, if she wins, must realise that a challenge was mounted by Peter Phillips because he believed that he had sufficient support in the party to do so. How she handles those who supported Peter Phillips, after the elections, will determine how quickly the party will regain its sense of purpose. If she were to lose, Portia Simpson Miller must realise that it was the same process which catapulted her to victory as party president in 2006, which, this time around, worked against her. Therefore, her continued support and hard work on behalf of the party is expected to continue.
If Peter Phillips were to win, it would be a demonstration of his resolve and determination to remain resolute in the face of those who were of the view that his timing was bad, and that he was motivated by personal rather than party reasons. He would be required to extend the olive branch to those who did not support him. If he were to lose, then he would have realised that he had made a monumental political blunder by misreading the political expectations of the delegates of the party. It would be his second defeat by Portia Simpson Miller and, as such, he would be required to put his desire for being the president of the party on hold, permanently.
The Meeks report
How Portia Simpson Miller or Peter Phillips react to his or her victory or defeat after September 20, 2008, will significantly help to determine how quickly the party will be able to save Jamaica and the people from the menacing and suffocating tentacles of the Jamaica Labour Party.
As was correctly and honestly pointed out in the "PNP Commissioned Review of the 2007 Election Report", commonly referred to as the Meeks report:
"The overarching question facing the PNP today is how to reunite the leaders, members and supporters around a common platform, based on a shared philosophy, common sense of direction and the role of the party in the future of the nation. The problem of distrust and consequent disunity associated with the 2006 presidential election is not going to heal itself."
By extension, the distrust and consequent disunity which may emanate from the September 2008 presidential election is not going to heal itself. Whether it is Portia or Peter as president, after September 2008, it is important to note, as was also pointed out by the Meeks report:
"The question of party unity cannot be approached in the abstract, but must coalesce around a set of clearly defined principles and further elaborated objectives. Then, we will truly be able to say with one voice, 'We know where we are going.'"
As a proud member of the PNP, I ask of all of my colleagues, that as we campaign in the true democratic traditions of the party, that we do so by way of robust, frank and honest discussions and not by quarrels, 'cass-cass' and confrontations, which will only serve to embarrass the party and give the impression that we have now adopted an approach which, to date, has been associated with the JLP and not the PNP.
Delano Franklyn is an attorney-at-law.
