By Vernon Daley, Staff ReporterEdward Seaga yesterday retained his post as Leader of the Jamaica Labour Party when he delivered a crushing defeat on challenger Mike Henry, carrying almost 90 per cent of the delegates who voted at the JLP's 56th annual conference.
Mr. Seaga received 2,184 votes to Mr. Henry's 268 in a poll which was marked by confusion and charges that the Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ), which conducted the elections at the National Arena, had fouled-up.
Obviously pleased with the result, Mr. Seaga told delegates that the leadership question in the party had been settled and that there was no longer a reason to talk about disunity.
"When 90 per cent of you speak, I regard that as unity and I don't want to hear anything more about disunity," Mr. Seaga said to loud cheers from the delegates who crammed into the arena.
Mr. Henry, who left the conference before voting ended, later told The Sunday Gleaner that he was not happy with the way the poll was conducted. He added that he was leaving the public to judge and the party to explain a number of foul-ups which he pointed out. For example, that deputy leaders were able to address the conference before voting took place, therefore influencing voters.
"It is what I would have expected from a system like this," Mr. Henry said.
He said too that his constituents were unhappy that when Central Clarendon delegates were lining up to vote, Mr. Seaga and several of his supporters rushed passed them with loud music.
Mr. Henry said that he intended to question the EOJ on why Tivoli delegates voted in five different stations, which kept them in the area longer than necessary. It was his understanding, he added, that both Tivoli and Central Clarendon would be divided into two areas each.
Confusion
Before the vote was announced, however, there was much confusion in the polling area, as a number of delegates complained that they were not being allowed to vote by EOJ staff members who were manning the booths. Many claimed that although they were on the voters' list, and had proper identification, they could not cast their ballots because the information in the EOJ's "Black Books", which carries details on each delegate, did not correspond to the delegates' list.
Those turned away were sent to a specially set up adjudication desk to have their identity verified. But this caused a delay in the voting, sparking accusations from the voters that their rights were being taken away because of the EOJ's bungling.
Director of Elections, Danville Walker, said while the process was slow and resulted in undue delays, it was necessary to ensure that each voter was properly identified. He added that there were people who were not on the voters' list but thought they were still entitled to vote, causing confusion. He also charged that there were those who tried to beat the system by voting in the name of other persons.
"There was a lot of identification problems that we had to deal with," Mr. Walker said.
JLP Deputy Leader Audley Shaw, however, insisted that based on his experience, during the day the EOJ had not taken enough care in ensuring that information on the delegates' list corresponded with that in its "Black Books".
"The mere fact that there was this lack of accord between our delegates, their IDs and what was in the 'Black Books' requires serious analysis and investigation," Mr. Shaw said. "Otherwise, it could have serious consequences for a general election."
Early challenge
Mr. Henry, a former JLP deputy leader, announced his intention to challenge Mr. Seaga for leadership of the party last year. The Central Clarendon MP's bid for leadership followed the decision of the party to ban him from holding office for a year, because of statements he made about Mr. Seaga, as well as his defiance of a gag order within the JLP.
Mr. Seaga, who has led the party for the last 26 years, discounted Mr. Henry as a devisive force who was working to destroy the party.
The party's disciplinary committee held that Mr. Henry brought the party and leader into disrepute and instituted the ban which expired in July this year.
His quest for the leadership sent political ripples through the JLP, with some supporters saying that the move would divide the party which is already reeling from an image as a fractious organisation.
Mr. Henry, nevertheless, backed by his constituency and a small group of persons disaffected with Mr. Seaga's leadership, argued that his platform of fundamental change in the party should be offered to the party delegates for a decision.
Going into the elections, Mr. Henry had raised concerns that the deck was stacked against him and that the poll results might not be fair. This led him to call for quick settlement of the delegates list; the use of the EOJ to monitor the election; independent outside observers; video coverage of all polling booths and a list of official caretakers for each constituency and their executives.
The party agreed to most of Mr. Henry's requests, including the use of the EOJ, but dismissed the calls for outside observers and the video coverage of the poll.
