The Editor, Sir:

The presidential race of the People's National Party (PNP) is now over and the Hon Portia Simpson Miller is still the president. I remember my grandfather once said, in a PNP group meeting, that there was no PNP without Portia Simpson and Michael Manley and, believe me, I now understand that what he said is very true.

Simpson Miller must be congratulated and Dr Peter Phillips must be commended for putting up a very good fight.

The question that needs to be answered is, what will the future of Dr Phillips be in the PNP? If I were Portia, I would extend a unity hand to Dr Phillips in order to make a way back to the halls of Jamaica House. I would advise Mrs Simpson Miller to let Dr Philips become her permanent running mate. The PNP cannot afford to be divided at this time, when thousands of Jamaicans are depending on the PNP to take the country from the hands of the ill-prepared JLP Government.

The PNP needs to return to the party which put people first; the PNP needs to return to the party where comrades were very proud to be members of "real' groups and not paper groups; the PNP needs to return to the era where comrades were presented with a political education certificate at the completion of their political education classes.

Those were the glory days of the PNP, and it is full time for every comrade to put their differences aside and get ready to build back the greatest political party in the Western hemisphere, one ready to defend the rights of every living Jamaican.

I am, etc.,

WAYNE SIMMONDS

waynes90@yahoo.co.uk

Toronto, Canada

Via Go-Jamaica