By Lloyd Williams, Senior Associate EditorTHE JAMAICA Labour Party will have its annual conference next month.
Riding like the Lone Ranger into the National Arena in Kingston on Sunday, November 9, the final day of the two-day conference, will be Edward Phillip George Seaga who has led the JLP since 1974. He most certainly will not face any competition for the top job, as up to now there has been no indication that anybody will challenge him.
Of course, the ambitious may put in their nominations for the job up to 30 days before the conference or, as is generally the practice, at JLP Area Council meetings leading up to it. But there was no such nomination at the Area Council One meeting on Sunday, September 21, or the Area Council Two meeting on Sunday, September 28. The remaining two Area Council meetings are scheduled for today, Sunday, October 5 Area Council Three, and Area Council Four.
So Mr. Seaga, who was 73 on May 28, and who at age 29 years was the youngest member of the Legislative Council, now the Senate (from 1959 to 1962); the Minister of Finance with the longest tenure (13 years, from 1967 to 1972 and from 1980 to 1989) and still is the longest-serving Member of Parliament from 1962 to the present will again be ruling supreme, despite earlier speculation, and even hope in some quarters, that he might throw in the towel.
Three party stalwarts who have in the past harboured thoughts of challenging Mr. Seaga for the leadership, Pearnel Charles, 67, and Mike Henry, 68, and Senator Bruce Golding, 55, are definitely not interested this time around.
Mr. Golding made short shrift of the suggestion.
Q: With the JLP's annual conference coming up, will you be going after the top job?
Mr. Golding: Top job meaning which one?
A: That of Leader.
Mr. Golding: No man, no way. Mr. Seaga hasn't indicated he is vacating the office.
NOT AVAILABLE
Mr. Charles chuckled when asked if he would be challenging the leader at the upcoming conference. "No man, no. One does not challenge at conference. All posts become vacant at conference. So one either makes himself available for a nomination or accepts a nomination if you are nominated. So it's not a question of challenging anybody.
"I am not available for any nomination this time for any post at the conference."
According to Mr. Charles, "We must recognise the culture in which we are operating and that political leaders in Jamaica under the present party constitutions (and this is for both major political parties), either resign, retire or die (in office). To a large extent, a change of leadership depends on the leader and one has to recognise and accept that.
"I have made my position clear. It is that if I still feel as I do now, that I am capable and available for the top leadership position of the Labour Party, if the people accept this capability and availability, then you will see me as the Leader of the Labour Party. But to go into a confrontational approach to wrest leadership, is futile because the culture of politics dictates otherwise.
"My position has been stated time and time again. After the present leader demits office and indeed he will demit office sometime, it's only natural if I am feeling as I do now then I would make it known to the delegates."
Mr. Charles pointed out that he is a vice president of the BITU, one of the largest unions in the country, and is MP for Clarendon North Central. "So I have a lot on my plate right now in terms of representation. So, let the culture work itself out."
Q: Mr. Henry, with the JLP's annual conference coming up, will you be going after the leadership this time around?
Mr. Henry: "Not this year."
He explained that when he challenged for leadership in 2000, he did so on a "platform of change; change to the constitution of the party, more democratisation, term limits, separation of the party structure from when we would be in government, so that the party would not disintegrate etc.
"I did so because I envisaged that we would have a difficulty winning the election with the present structure ... and being the last nationally-elected deputy leader I am against the regional deputies concept, so I have advocated that we return to that as when I was elected deputy leader that we have conference vote on all the deputy leaders and then you assign them their duties."
CHANGE IS INEVITABLE
Mr. Henry said that three months ago he advocated that the party revisit his position. "Change is inevitable, change has to come and we must begin to look at change and structure our constitution and everything that goes with it as the constitution is the only thing that I can rely on in order to put the party in a new perspective and a new image." He said he was allowed to make presentations and a committee was looking at the matter.
"In the light of it therefore since the party is not prepared to change to nationally-elected deputy leaders I couldn't see that I could stand on a principle and then go and run now for a lower level of deputy leadership than existed when I won...
"So in the light of the fact that the party is immovable at the moment on that protection, I have decided to not participate in any race, to wait to see what they take as constitutional changes to the conference...
"I am therefore waiting on the party's response so I have to see this conference through. I don't think the party can withstand any more challenges right now... On the basis of all of that it will be unprincipled for me to run this year...
"But one thing I don't want to do is seem divisive this year as some people tend to want to look at anything that's change as divisiveness. So I am still holding fast and hope that the party will come around to some point that it's butchered its constitution over the years and the constitution did not protect me when I was summarily found a new seat after being elected nationally. Now after I have seen what conference does... then again since they haven't made the terms in office anything, it will be open next year."
And Mr. Henry has personal reasons for not going after the top post this year. He says he is getting married on December 14, he is rebuilding his company, he is putting his papers together for his memoirs and is still trying to hold his constituency of Clarendon Central together. And "coming out of two elections, I just wouldn't have the money to mount any credible campaign. So I am assessing all the positions and looking at it and I still stand with my decision from 2000 that we need a change."
It seems therefore that any excitement at the conference will have to come from Mr. Seaga's outline of his future in the party, the party's future, plans to prepare the party for the 2007 General Election and deputy leaders' race.
The deputy leaders are: Derrick Smith, 59, business executive, and MP for St. Andrew North Western, Area Council One; Olivia "Babsy" Grange, 57, artiste management executive and company director, MP for St. Catherine Central, Area Council Two; Audley Shaw, 51, businessman, MP for Manchester North East, Area Council Three; and Edmund Bartlett, 52, marketing executive, MP for St. James East Central, Area Council Four.
The parishes making up the JLP's Area Councils are:
Area Council One: Kingston and St. Andrew; Area Council Two: St. Catherine, Portland, St. Thomas and St. Mary; Area Council Three: Clarendon, Manchester and St. Ann; and Area Council Four: St. Elizabeth, Hanover, St. James, Westmoreland and Trelawny.
Dr. Horace Chang, 49, medical doctor, has declared his intention to wrest the deputy leadership from Edmund Bartlett, and James Robertson, 37, company director, MP for St. Thomas Western, will be challenging Babsy Grange for the leadership of Area Council Two.
Dr. Kenneth Baugh, 62, surgeon specialist, and MP for St. Catherine West Central is not seeking re-election as the party's general secretary. For that post, the contenders are most likely Senator Arthur Williams, Jr., 52, attorney-at-law, Karl Samuda, 61, businessman, and MP for St. Andrew North Central, and party stalwart Prudence Kidd Deans.
To ensure that the election is run fairly, the JLP has requested the Electoral Office of Jamaica to supervise it.
The deputy general secretaries are: Arthur Williams, Jr.; Danville Davidson and Derrick Hamilton. Pat Stephens quit some time ago.
News from the party is that Ryan Peralto, who had been off the scene for several months on sick leave, has been back on the job since September as chairman, having taken over from Miss Dorothy Lightbourne, the deputy.
Christopher Bovell, attorney-at-law seems set to remain the party's treasurer, his deputy being Shirley Williams.
All these posts would come up for election at the meeting of the JLP's Central Executive which is scheduled for after the conference.
Commenting on the mood of the party, an insider said, "It is definitely on a high with the close General Election in October 2002 and the convincing victory in the Local Government Elections in June 2003."
These "excellent results" have led some people in the party to voice the view that the team that led the party to that stage should generally remain intact.
But there is the other view, that persons should be given the opportunity to move up in the party. The fact that the PNP recently had its vigorous vice presidential contests has reinforced the view that "there is the need to make changes where changes are necessary and where people want to move up."
