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PNP PRESIDENT'S STATEMENT ON THE ISLANDWIDE ENUMERATION The Leader of the Jamaica Labour Party, (JLP), Mr. Edward Seaga, recently, denounced the current enumeration exercise as being biased in favour of the People's National Party (PNP). He also alleged that there is a monstrous plot to deprive JLP supporters of the opportunity to be enumerated. This allegation, in accordance with his now well-accustomed style is both incoherent and incredible. This is typical of the way Mr. Seaga has behaved over many years. When he does not get to have his own way, he resort to attacks of a personal kind, without regard for institution that might be damaged or the reputation of individual people. In Opposition in the 1970s and now he has attacked every Commissioner of Police. Now he has repeatedly attack the Electoral Advisory Committee (RAC) when it does not do his bidding. What Mr. Seaga is trying to do with this latest attack on the EAC is to erode public confidence in the enumeration process and hence the subsequent voters' list. And one has to ask oneself the question why? What is his reason? Or what is his purpose for doing this? One might be forgiven for concluding that this is an attempt to begin from now to cast doubt on the outcome of any general election, providing he is not returned as the winner. The fact is the EAC was created in 1979 to move the whole question of the conduct of elections out of partisan hands. Neither the Government nor the Governing Party can dictate to the EAC. We have two members on the EAC, so does the JLP. If there are concerns about the conduct of the enumeration process one would have expected that in the first instance those concerns would have been brought to the attention of the EAC by the members of that Party, before there was resort to public platform. The EAC, especially at this time, meets as a full Body sometimes three times per week. It also meets regularly in sub-committees, on which the JLP is represented. Let me say something as clearly as I can. It is not the Government nor the PNP which is responsible for the enumeration exercise. IT IS THE EAC. NEITHER I NOR THE MINISTER OF HEALTH, WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ELECTORAL MATTERS, NOR INDEED OUR TWO REPRESENTATIVES ON THE COMMITTEE CAN DICTATE TO THE EAC WHAT IT DOES OR DOESN'T DO WITHIN ITS LEGAL MANDATE. In the course of the Enumeration, we have had our concerns. I have had my own concerns. What do I do about them? I communicate them to the representatives on the committee and they are brought to the attention of the persons in charge of the registration in the field. Other representatives of the PMP have tabled or registered verbal complaints, concerns and queries which our organization have gleaned from the field. We have made all the necessary funding available to the EAC. It cannot complain that it has been denied the money for which it has asked. And the Government, let me make it clear, is not responsible for the allocation of supplies nor can we be blamed for any shortage of materials. No doubt, and I can say from personal experience, that there have been some hitches in the field, but there have been no evidence of any intimidation nor has there been anything to suggest collusion and conspiracy between the EAC and the PMP. I think that responsible leadership requires that matters of concern of this kind raised by Mr. Seaga, if he really believe that there is a grain of truth in what he is saying, ought firstly to be brought to the attention of the EAC, rather than having the Committee being the subject of public castigation. We have not participated in the enumeration exercise, as a Party, on the basis of which polling division is PNP and which is JLP. Speaking for the Government and for the Party, we want a full enumeration. That is why I have said we will not hold any elections until the present enumeration exercise is completed. I am not going to do like Mr. Seaga did in 1983 when hundreds of thousands of young people were disenfranchise as a result of holding elections on a list that was four to five years out of date. As far as the decision to terminate the enumeration exercise is concerned, that is a matter NOT for the Government side, not for the Opposition nor for the National Democratic Movement. IT IS A MATTER FOR THE EAC TO DECIDE WHEN THE ENUMERATION EXERCISE IS PROPERLY COMPLETED. Yours sincerely, Maxine Henry-Wilson (Mrs.) General Secretary PM ADDRESSES BUSINESSMEN, PROFESSIONALS IN CALIFORNIA Prime Minister and President of the Peopleís National Party (PNP), P. J. Patterson has noted that Caribbean and Afro-American people share a common ancestry and should not allow themselves to remain permanently separated, despite the evils of slavery. Mr. Patterson said the opportunity and the demands of the global village, the communities of our historical experience combine to tell us that we can best conquer age-old prejudices by forging one common cause. He was speaking at a reception held in his honour by noted attorney, Johnnie Cochrane, in Los Angeles on Sunday, July 13. The Prime Minister told the audience of mostly Afro-American business and professional persons that Jamaica was a sovereign country to which he hoped they could always point with pride. We will always be a voice in the chambers of the world against oppression, exploitation and racism, he added. Mr. Patterson exhorted the audience to regard Jamaica, not only as a home away from home, but also as a haven for profitable investment and trading opportunities. He also invited Jamaicans in the audience to bring their skills and expertise back home to help in building the country. Declaring his confidence that he will be successful when he seeks another mandate from the Jamaican people by next March, Mr. Patterson said his Party will triumph because its aims are noble, its vision clear and its cause just. PNP Policy CONSISTENCY OF PRINCIPLE The PNP was founded in 1938 by Norman Washington Manley, a lawyer. His co-founders included: Vernon Arnett, George Bill, Howard Cooke, Edith Dalton-James, O.T. Fairclough, T. Adrian Gray, H.P. Jacobs, Noel Newton Nethersole and William Seivwright. These men pioneered the struggle for political and economic independence, democracy and social justice. History THE BIRTH OF THE PEOPLE'S NATIONAL PARTY
The centenary of the emancipation of slavery in Jamaica in 1938 had been stormy. In May, workers in the sugar industry, on the docks and many unemployed demonstrated, marched and struck for more work, better conditions and more pay. The events of May shook Jamaica and brought many to the realisation that something had to be done. Norman Manley offered himself as mediator between the workers and the employers. He had come to realise that social work alone, however well planned, could not solve Jamaica's problems and that political action was needed as well. Manley spent the last week of May interviewing worker delegates and having informal talks with the governor and employers. Through his efforts, Bustamante and St. William Grant, the labour leaders, were released from prison and the workers agreed to return to work after they were granted some concessions by the fruit and shipping companies and other employers. At a press conference in late May, Manley reported that a number of committees were to be formed to propose solutions to some of Jamaica's pressing problems. He said that he hoped these proposals would be used as the "first planks in a platform for a genuine labour party." Edna Manley told Clyde Hoyt in 1983: "People often say that Norman was persuaded by someone to go into politics, but that just isn't so.....of course he was under pressure from many people to take up the leadership of a political movement, but in the end the decision would be entirely his." For more information about the People's National Party, visit our website at www.pnp.org.jm |