PNP Will Not Contest Any By-Election so Close to a General Election

Kingston, Jamaica. February 5, 2020: The People’s National Party has noted the hurried and contrived resignation of the Minister of State for National Security and Member of Parliament for South East Clarendon, Hon. Ruddy Spencer, and the telegraphing of an early by-election by the General Secretary by the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), Dr. Horace Chang, MP.
In a statement, the General Secretary of the People’s National Party (PNP), Mr. Julian Robinson, MP, said the Party noted that while it wished Mr. Spencer well in his retirement, his resignation has not been occasioned by any personal or national emergency, but by the political exigencies of the JLP to settle the political wrangling between Senators Pearnel Charles, Jnr. and Robert Morgan.

The PNP General Secretary said the people of Jamaica could not, therefore, reasonably be expected to provide the Electoral Office of Jamaica with $30 million to pay for a contrived by-election, when general elections, expecting to cost over one billion dollars, are due within months.
In addition, at a JLP meeting last month, the Prime Minister, who has the constitutional right of calling an election, said he is getting ready for the general elections. Consequently, the PNP General Secretary said, both parties and the EOJ have been preparing for elections.
“The People’s National Party respects the right of the people of South East Clarendon to have Parliamentary representation, but has no intention of following the JLP into this unnecessary and wasteful political exercise which will be a carnival of spending state resources, as were the cases in the two previous by-elections,” Mr. Robinson said.

As a result, he said, the PNP would not be contesting this by-election exercise so close to general elections to facilitate an internal political settlement to benefit the JLP and not the people of the constituency nor the people of Jamaica who must now pay the bill. The party will instead intensify its preparation for general elections.

He said the indecent haste to ship Mr. Spencer off to a diplomatic post is proof positive that the JLP has no confidence in its ability to win the upcoming general election when Jamaicans are overwhelmed with murder, fearful crime, unprecedented governmental corruption and a stagnating economy which is leading to significant income disparity and low growth.