Audrey Marks to be JLP's candidate for Manchester North East

Jamaica’s former Ambassador to the United States, Audrey Marks, has confirmed that she will be the Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP) candidate for Manchester North East in the upcoming general elections.

Marks, who currently serves as Minister without Portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for Efficiency, Innovation, and Digital Transformation, told The Gleaner this morning that she accepted Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness' invitation on Tuesday to be the party’s standard-bearer in the constituency.

“I formally said yes to the Prime Minister yesterday,” she said.

Marks said she has already met with the other two aspirants for the seat, who, according to her, have since endorsed her candidacy.

She said she has also begun meeting with other members of the constituency to get their support.

She plans to meet with the current Member of Parliament, Audley Shaw, next week.

“I travelled to the constituency yesterday with the Prime Minister and met with all the players, and now I am in the process of putting an election team in place,” she said.

Marks, who had previously stated she had no interest in representative politics, explained that she made the decision to run because she believes she has a role to play in Jamaica’s continued development.

“I will play my part in this. Having met with the people, I feel a connection with the constituency, coming from a rural parish myself,” she said.

According to Marks, Holness, who is the leader of the JLP, urged her to take over the seat due to her background and strong name recognition.

“I will be looking for ways to create opportunities for the young people in the constituency, as well as seek out economic development for the area, whether through the creation of more small businesses or large-scale projects,” she said.

Marks said that she is new to representational politics but she had to say yes when asked by the Prime Minister given the current state of the constituency

“I know the Government has put forward a strong plan to achieve economic growth, so Jamaica can meet the goals of Vision 2030, and I believe I can play a significant role in this development,” she said.

She also shared that she informed her family of the decision only after accepting the Prime Minister’s request.

“I had previously said no to entering representational politics, but I decided to accept after the Prime Minister laid out the need for me to be the party’s standard-bearer,” she said.

- Lester Hinds

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