By Lloyd Williams, Senior Associate Editor 
Williams (left) and Samuda (right)
COME NEXT Sunday, November 23, all eyes will be on the contest for the posts of chairman and of general secretary of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).
Each election will be decided by 166 voters the officers of the party, MPs, Senators, constituency caretakers, representatives of the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union, four councillors from each of the four Area Councils, three councillors from each parish and the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC), and representatives of the JLP's five affiliates Young Jamaica, Women's Freedom Movement, the National Organi-sation of Women, the National Patriotic Movement and the Jamaica Association of Higglers.
The election of officers is scheduled for the meeting of its Central Executive at the party's headquarters at 18 Belmont Road, Kingston 5.
Nominations will close today for the positions of chairman, deputy chairman, treasurer, deputy treasurer as well as for the jobs of general secretary and four deputies one for administration and one each for Area Councils Two, Three and Four.
THE CHAIRMANSHIP
Going up for the chairmanship of the party at the time of writing were the incumbent Ryan Peralto; Dr. Percival Broderick, himself a former chairman; Audley Shaw, MP for Manchester North East, and Senator Bruce Golding who quit the chairmanship of the JLP and formed the National Democratic Movement in October 1995.
Nominated for the treasurer's post is the incumbent Christopher Bovell, attorney-at-law, with his deputy being Shirley Williams, company director, also the incumbent.
Both the election of the chairman and of the new general secretary, which post became vacant with the resignation of Dr. Kenneth Baugh, MP for St. Catherine West Central, are guaranteed to set off fireworks.
According to JLP observers, the election of the new general secretary had originally seemed set to be a bit of a snooze, pitting the organisational skills of Karl Samuda, MP for St. Andrew north Central, against the even-handed administrative skills of Arthur Williams and the efficiency and devotion of Prudence Kidd-Deans, who is an aide to Mr. Seaga.
But during the conference at the National Arena in Kingston on Saturday, November 8, James Robertson, MP for St. Thomas Western, caused an upset by ousting Olivia 'Babsy' Grange as deputy leader for Area Council Two, and Dr. Horace Chang wrested the leadership of Area Council Four from Edmund Bartlett, MP for St. James East Central, all hell broke loose and in more ways than one.
BLAMING HER DEFEAT
In the wake of Miss Grange blaming her defeat and that of Mr. Bartlett, on a plot by the Young Turks to oust Edward Seaga as Leader of the JLP, to protect the so-called old-guard Seaga loyalists, the decision was taken to dump Arthur Williams, Jr., as the party hierarchy's choice as general secretary and instead back Edmund Bartlett to bring home the bacon for the conservative elements within the party.
One target of the flak from Miss Grange's conspiracy theory has been Williams, attorney-at-law and the JLP's deputy general secretary for administration for the last 11 years and four months since July 1992. As JLP insiders tell it, Williams is being blamed for "not having done enough to ensure" Miss Grange's win, with the result that he has been "cold-shouldered" from the minute the result of the Area Council Two deputy leader's contest was announced, with Robertson trouncing Grange by 584 votes to 469.
According to party sources, Williams unwittingly further sealed his fate, in the eyes of the Grange camp, by attending a post-conference party at Bruce Golding's house instead of one at Mr. Seaga's house.
But Williams said that nobody invited him to the party at Mr. Seaga's house while he had been invited to Mr. Golding's. As JLP insiders tell it, Williams is being branded as 'anti-Seaga' and nobody is talking to him. He hears about informal meetings to which he would normally be invited, only after they have taken place.
Contacted by The Sunday Gleaner, Williams said that he was aware of being "slighted by certain quarters" since the conference. But he said he was pressing ahead with his campaign for general secretary.
He described as rubbish, accusations that he could have "done something" to help Miss Grange's campaign and said that suggestions that the list of delegates were weighted against Miss Grange was ridiculous as both Miss Grange and Mr. Robertson had "agreed to and signed off on the list of delegates" for the election which was administered by the Electoral Office of Jamaica.
BARTLETT
Mr. Bartlett made it clear Friday night to The Sunday Gleaner that he had not then made up his mind to contest the post of general secretary.
He put it this way: "I have not put my hat in the ring yet. I am being persuaded to do it and I am on my way into Kingston to discuss it because I really have not made up my mind that I am going."
However, the question was posed to Mr. Bartlett anyway:
Q: What would you bring to the job of general secretary?
Bartlett: I have been general secretary of the party before from 1996 to 1998, during a very difficult crisis period."
He said that the organisational programme that the party carried out during that period led to its restoration after the devastation and the fallout which led to the formation of the NDM. He said that having won four parliamentary elections and having been in Parliament for what will soon be 18 years, the combination of those factors would definitely be to his advantage as general secretary in moving the party forward.
He went on: "The bigger point is really that we have been able to re-position the party during difficult times and where the issues of contending views and new ideas and fallouts have happened we were able, within a short time, to put back the party together and forge a team that went on to win the 2003 elections.
Q: What are your chances of winning should you decide to contest it?
Bartlett: I am being prevailed upon to contest... I haven't even started to campaign. It's just that the calls have been from the highest levels in the party. It is they who have prevailed on me from the highest levels of the party to go forward because they feel that the experience that I bring to the stage will do well for the party.
WILLIAMS
Q: What will you bring to the job of general secretary to ensure the success of your party?
Williams: My experience, my acknowledged administrative skills and the fact that over the years, while I have been in this position, I have always been of a calm disposition while being firm and being regarded by all as fair and even-handed. I am confident that the persons who are entitled to vote will recognise my dedication and hard work and reward me with the post.
SAMUDA
Q: What will you bring to the job of general secretary to ensure your party's success?
Samuda: Most importantly I bring to the table 38 years of political involvement, 23 years as a Member of Parliament, the experience and the knowledge of politics and the methods required to be successful. I have a very successful political record and the only thing that really matters in politics in the final analysis is whether you are able to win. We don't get second prizes in politics. We are not playing horseshoes; it's not how close you get but whether you win and I have a proven track record of being able to win.
And it is that winning way that I want to bring to the JLP in a very direct way of having the authority to do the things and implement the strategies necessary for the JLP to defeat the PNP. My main objective in all of this is to defeat the People's National Party and I think that having the job as general secretary will give me the authority and the opportunity to implement methods and strategies, along with my colleagues, that will lead to success.
Q: What are your chances of winning?
Samuda: All the nominations are not in yet but I think my chances should be excellent based on the responses I have received.
KIDD-DEANS
Mrs. Prudence Kidd-Deans views her chances of being elected general secretary as "very good". The job is demanding to the extent of bordering on the full-time, she says, and she sees her accessibility and availability as factors which qualify her for it.
She says that over the years while she has been a deputy general secretary, in the absence of a deputy leader or the general secretary, she has often been called on to act in those roles.
"Balance and trustworthiness" are some of her attributes, she says, and these would stand her in good stead as general secretary. In addition, Mrs. Kidd-Deans says, she is not one who defends the hierarchy automatically, but looks at the circumstances and principles involved in each case.
"Generally, women are far more understanding, and understand issues far better than men, and, as general secretary, that would be one of my strong points".
As general secretary, Mrs. Kidd-Deans says, she would focus on attracting support to the JLP, thereby assisting in the renewal of the party to enable it to form the Government in "the very near future".
The general secretary is in charge of administration of the party and all its programmes, maintenance of its organisational structures, its divisions and its constituencies and is its spokesperson on all political matters distinct from portfolio.
Previous general secretaries have included Dr. Kenneth Baugh, Audley Shaw, Edmund Bartlett, Dr. Percival Broderick and Ryan Peralto.
