THE DELEGATES of the People's National Party (PNP) have spoken and finally a new party president has been chosen. We congratulate Portia Simpson Miller on having emerged victorious and now urge the new president, the rivals and all those persons who participated so vigorously in the campaign to return quickly to the business of managing the affairs of the country.Despite the appearance of camaraderie that has been portrayed for public consumption, we expect that given normal human emotions there will be much disappointment and some hard feelings among the contenders. After all, given the results, it will be clear that promises would have been broken and pledges not fulfilled. Yet the country has no time to accommodate the luxury of recrimination. Much of the business of state has already been pushed on the back-burner in the past few months and especially over the past three weeks.
Now that the election is over the Government ministers in particular need to get back into dealing with the pressing matters facing the country, particularly with the impending new financial year coinciding with a new session of Parliament.
Before that, however, the sequel to yesterday's PNP presidential election of a new leader will take place and in accordance with Section 70(1) of the Constitution the Governor-General will appoint the new Prime Minister. And in keeping with Section 71(4) on that appointment the office of all other ministers becomes vacant. Thus, the new Prime Minister will face the task of assigning portfolios to what could be a new slate of Cabinet members. It may well be that a new leader may feel the need to seek a mandate from a wider electorate in a national poll.
This may coincide with similar sentiments being voiced by a lethargic Opposition Jamaica Labour Party trying to present itself more earnestly as a viable alternative to govern the country. These scenarios suggest that much energy will be diverted over the next few months to securing electoral victory at the national polls. In our view the country can ill afford all this time being given over to campaigning in the immediate future.
The leaders of the political parties, old and new, need to remember that as part of their stated commitment to national and public service, that the interest of Jamaica comes first.
The challenges facing them at all levels are onerous, but with vision, integrity and tenacity, they can lead the country with a sense that the majority of decent citizens are supporting them in the fight against crime, the securing of justice and efforts to have the economy grow.
