By Balford Henry, Senior Reporter
FORMER DEPUTY leader of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), Mike Henry, whose 12-month suspension from holding any office within the party has ended, has immediately set in motion his challenge to party leader Edward Seaga.
Mr. Henry met with 400 polling division captains and workers in May Pen, the heart of his Central Clarendon constituency, on Sunday. He told The Gleaner after the meeting, that he had received the unanimous endorsement of the constituency to challenge Mr. Seaga at the JLP's annual conference later this year.
He said that the next step would be to write a letter to the party's leadership this week, laying down certain conditions he sought as a prerequisite to a poll. The letter was also expected to restate Mr. Henry's platform for his leadership challenge, what he termed the "separation of powers" within the executive.
Although Mr. Henry said that he did not wish to make public the conditions listed in his letter, sources tell The Gleaner among them are calls for a list of delegates to be settled 90 days before the conference; retention of the 1998/99 delegates list; the Electoral Office 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. He also wants a copy of a letter to all constituencies advising them of his intention to run and seeking non-confrontational participation in the process.
Mr. Henry's "separation of powers" platform calls for among other things: Term limits for leaders, which can only be extended after 10 years by two-thirds support; that the general secretary should not be allowed to contest a seat, but be appointed a Senator and, when the party is in power, a minister without portfolio; deputy leaders to be elected at annual conference by all delegates; and that branches be resurrected and allowed to assess and choose candidates.
He said that he was committed to the revival of the branch system, which had prevailed in the pre-Seaga period of the JLP. The polling division captain system which had replaced it "was not a party building machinery," he added.
He also said that he thought the party needed the branches as a conventional method of fund-raising, instead of relying on rich donors.
Mr. Henry was suspended from holding any office within the party for 12 months, last July. This followed examination of a report from the party's disciplinary committee which looked at eight charges which were brought against him.
The charges arose from statements he had made about Mr. Seaga as well as his defiance of a "gag order" which was placed on him making statements without party approval.
Wants Electoral Office to monitor polls; independent
observers; video coverage of polling booths
