WITH the revelation that the Court of Appeal will deliver its judgment on the fate of Daryl Vaz this week, the Opposition People's National Party (PNP) has dared Prime Minister Bruce Golding to not eat his words about a general election.

Golding had said he would not allow anyone rejected at the polls by the people to sit in Parliament.

He made the statement after Abe Dabdoub asked the Court of Appeal to boot Vaz as West Portland's member of parliament.

"Golding has made his bed hard so he should lie in it," former PNP General Secretary Donald Buchanan told The Gleaner yesterday.

Not eligible for election

Dabdoub, who is a member of the Opposition People's National Party (PNP), has charged that Vaz was a United States citizen at the time of his nomination and, therefore, was not eligible, under the Constitution, to be elected to Parliament.

Chief Justice Zaila McCalla agreed and stripped Vaz, a Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) member, of the seat. She, however, ordered a by-election, but Dabdoub has contended that the seat should be handed to him.

Yesterday, Buchanan said the PNP was confident that the Court of Appeal would rule in Dabdoub's favour and force Golding to decide "whether to eat his words".

Hypocritical human being

Buchanan, who was described by commentators as a loose cannon on the campaign trail, said the prime minister "is one of the most hypocritical human beings in the history of Jamaican politics".

Said Buchanan: "While the PNP has been working hard at helping to address the problems facing the country, he has been campaigning incessantly since the general election. Everything that he has done is campaign."

The PNP was beaten into opposition in September 2007 by Golding's JLP, which won 32 of the 60 parliamentary seats.

Vaz won West Portland by 944 votes and if the Court of Appeal rules in Dabdoub's favour, the majority in the House would be a mere seat.