Simpson Miller

Western Bureau:

The People's National Party (PNP) has outlined a framework to rebuild the party's structure and presence in Jamaica following the disappointing show at the polls in the West Portland by-election, according to party president Portia Simpson Miller.

"Mistakes were made; decisions were made collectively, sometimes at short notice, but as party president I accept full responsibility," Simpson Miller told her supporters on the weekend during the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting at The Wexford Hotel in Montego Bay.

She explained that in order to rebuild the PNP to its former glory, members would need to refocus their efforts and foster a spirit of volunteerism, as well as re-engage the grass-root elements that contributed to the party's success in the past. Simpson Miller also pointed to the need for ongoing enumeration programmes and the training of individuals at the divisional and constituency levels.

In addressing the issue of candidacy for elections, the PNP president stated that "we must have candidates in place in advance of elections - whether it is for local or general elections - and we must develop ongoing programmes of funding and financing".

In March, the Jamaica Labour Party's (JLP) Daryl Vaz trounced PNP candidate Kenneth Rowe in the West Portland by-election. Vaz polled 7,915 votes to Rowe's 5,626, and became the first candidate to poll more than 7,000 votes in West Portland.

Ineligible to have contested

In the September 2007 general election, Vaz went up against the PNP's Abraham Dabdoub and polled 6,977 votes against Dabdoub's 6,033. However, resulting from court action taken by Dabdoub, Chief Justice Zaila McCalla ruled Vaz ineligible to have contested the 2007 election because he held American citizenship - which is constitutionally prohibited for members of the Jamaican legislature.

A militant Simpson Miller argued on the weekend that, in the future, the West Portland constituency would favour the PNP, based on the ground work that had been taking place since the election.

"We have reconnected with and recaptured the base of the PNP in the constituency and ... for the work that we have done there, the landscape will be different in future," said Simpson Miller. "Among the many results from the West Portland by-election, there is a clear demonstration that our democracy is under threat, and we need to address the issue of funding of political parties so no one will be able to buy our democracy," she declared to resounding applause.

The NEC meeting in Montego Bay was the first executive meeting since the by-election in West Portland and Simpson Miller's first public speech since the finance minister Audley Shaw opened the 2009-2010 Budget Debate in Parliament last Thursday.