Golding
Robert Hart, Staff Reporter
BRUCE GOLDING, chairman of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), is maintaining a firm grasp on the lion's share of rural delegates in his bid to succeed Edward Seaga who is to retire after 30 years as party leader next month.
Islandwide surveys conducted by The Sunday Gleaner throughout last week indicate that despite fervent and intense campaigning from both Mr. Golding and rival Pearnel Charles, the majority of the JLP's Members of Parliament and Councillors continue to squarely back the party chairman.
During his campaign launch in August, Mr. Golding received the official endorsements of no fewer than 12 JLP MPs, several Councillors and the heads of three affiliate organisations.
Most have in turn claimed that the more than 4,000 delegates
who will decide the party's next leader, on November 6, will opt for Mr. Golding because he is younger, more administratively capable and has a better chance of defeating the next leader of the governing People's National Party (PNP).
The delegates list has been sent to the Electoral Office of Jamaica for vetting and is expected to see few changes before being sent back to the JLP Secretariat by Thursday.
From St. Thomas to West-
moreland, an overwhelming majority of those interviewed felt that Mr. Golding is the best candidate to pull the JLP out of 15 years in the political wilderness.
But there were some Councillors and delegates who argued differently. They claimed that Mr. Charles, a Minister of Public Utilities in the Seaga administration of the 1980s, has earned the party leadership with an exceptional record of performance and party loyalty.
One Councillor argued that Mr. Charles would likely receive 80 per cent of the delegate votes from St. Thomas, while Ernie Smith, Member of Parliament for South Western St. Ann, has predicted that Mr. Golding will receive 98 per cent of the vote in sections of his constituency.
Mr. Golding has apparently even maintained strong support in St. Elizabeth despite Senate colleague Norman Horne's opposition to his candidacy. Senator Horne, the recently-elected JLP Caretaker for South East St. Elizabeth, is a major player on Mr. Charles' campaign team.
Both Senator Horne and Abe Dabdoub, JLP Member of Parliament for North East St. Catherine, have been pushed to defend the Charles campaign which has been accused of getting "nasty and negative" after the appearance of radio and television advertisements attacking Mr. Golding's character.
Mr. Charles and his campaign managers have denied responsibility for the ads.
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