Henry-Wilson, left, and McKenzie
Lynford Simpson, Staff Reporter
BOTH THE People's National Party (PNP), and the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) are predicting that they will dominate the Parish Councils after the upcoming Local Government elections.
"We are aiming for as many of the Councils as possible ... we think that we have a very good chance of controlling all of them," Maxine Henry-Wilson, PNP General-Secretary said yesterday.
"We are working assiduously to consolidate the gains that we made in the October 16 general election," said Senator Desmond McKenzie, chairman of the JLP's campaign committee for the Corporate Area.
The elections which have been postponed on several occasions because of the ongoing reform of the local government system, are due by March, and Prime Minister P.J. Patterson has said there will be no further extensions.
If the March deadline is met, Jamaicans will vote again a mere five months after doing so in the October 16 parliamentary elections, which saw the PNP winning 34 seats to the JLP's 26.
All 12 Parish Councils and the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC) are controlled by the ruling party.
While expressing confidence of a clean sweep once more, the General-Secretary conceded that the quality of the candidates selected would go a far way in determining this. "We recognise that the quality of the candidates will be definitive, therefore, we are trying to see what we can do in that area," she said.
Mrs Henry-Wilson said the PNP candidates will be confirmed following the party's special delegates conference on January 25, and after being subjected to a rigorous selection process.
Noting that local government has, and will be assuming greater meaning, the General-Secretary said the platform that will be taken to the public will take into account some of the changes that have been made, including increased autonomy for the Parish Councils. She said there were ongoing discussions about the direct election of mayors and the appointment of town managers to make the system more effective.
The JLP said it will be going all out to take back the Parish Councils. Its full slate of candidates will be in place by the end of January.
"Basically what we have done is to streamline and position our local government team to take control of the KSAC," he said. He noted that emphasis was being placed on the marginal seats.
With only five of 15 Corporate Area seats going into the recent parliamentary election, the JLP, under Senator McKenzie, won nine of the seats, reversing the PNP's dominance.
Although the JLP holds only 11 of the 40 seats in the KSAC, Senator McKenzie, long-standing Councillor for the Tivoli division, expects the party to come out on top after the March polls. He would not be drawn on the number of seats the JLP was likely to win, but said that any number above 20 would be acceptable. "Our sole intention is to win the majority of divisions and we are working towards that," he emphasised.
Edmund Bartlett, JLP deputy leader who is heading the campaign team in the west, believes the party will come out on top at that end of the island. He said: "The indications are that it will be a close fight, but the trend is favouring the JLP".
According to Mr. Bartlett, the JLP had clear majorities in St. James, where it won three of four seats in the parliamentary election, and in Trelawny where it secured one of two seats. He said the party will do well in Hanover where it also holds one of two parliamentary seats.
Like the PNP, emphasis is being placed on getting the best candidates. Said Bartlett: "Each time the demand of the electorate lifts the bar and this election is going to see far more highly qualified and capable candidates coming forward for representation at the local level". Some 227 divisions will be contested in the Local Government elections.
