Azan

The citizens of North West Clarendon have been summoned to elect a member of parliament on Friday, September 4, to fill the void created by the Supreme Court's removal of the Jamaica Labour Party's (JLP) Michael Stern.

Addressing journalists in an atmosphere of subdued excitement at the JLP's Belmont Road, New Kingston, office in the aftermath of yesterday's Supreme Court ruling, Prime Minister Bruce Golding revealed that Nomination Day has been set for next Wednesday, August 19.

As was expected, the prime minister announced that Stern, who has renounced his US citizenship, will once again be the JLP candidate.

Golding said the JLP had anticipated the ruling and was already revving up its campaign machinery. "It will need a little bit of tweaking here and there to facilitate North West Clarendon," he asserted.

The prime minister contended that the case brought against Stern by the People's National Party's Richard Azan was similar in nature to the West Portland and North East St Catherine dual-citizenship court battles.

Position vindicated

"The issues were similar ... it was for that reason that I wondered about the basis on which the court would depart from the ruling of the court of appeal, which is a higher court," Golding said. "I think the ruling has vindicated the position that I took."

However, even as the JLP presses the accelerator to its campaign machinery in North West Clarendon, Golding is serving notice that it will not apply the brake to the move to challenge sitting Opposition MPs who are suspected of holding dual citizenship status at the time of nomination for the 2007 general election.

Golding revealed that the court documents have been prepared but have not yet been served to Western Hanover MP Ian Hayles and South Central St Catherine parliamentarian Sharon Hay-Webster.

Even as the court battles continue to send legal fees spiralling, Golding announced that his side will challenge the amount in court. He described the $49 million incurred by the attorneys for Abe Dabdoub in the West Portland court battle as outrageous.

Not yet settled

"None of the fees have been settled. Those fees will have to be adjudicated by the courts," he said.

However, he stressed that the JLP was still predisposed to hammering out an agreement with the PNP on the issue. "The door must be kept open," Golding declared.

Golding was critical of the PNP for what he described as its failure to present a "coherent or consistent position" on the matter, depending on which faction or individual in the party spoke.

The prime minister said JLP General Secretary Karl Samuda had conveyed to him his frustration at the difficulty he had encountered in negotiating with PNP officials.

"What is happening is not of our choosing ... we did not initiate court action and at the same time it is frustrating the talks to resolve the issue," Golding said.

gary.spaulding@gleanerjm.com