Shanna Monteith, Gleaner Writer
The songs of rejection sung in February by several delegates of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) as they protested the promotion of Dr Michelle Charles to candidate-caretaker of the St Thomas Eastern seat have changed to tunes of support.
Sharing their disapproval, the delegates complained that the party rejected their choice candidate, son of the soil and attorney-at-law Michael Donaldson, and put forward Charles, the daughter of veteran politician Pearnel Charles Sr, who lost the seat in 1993 to now six-time member of parliament Dr Fenton Ferguson.
Among the protesters who threatened not to work or vote unless their requests were met was JLP supporter Nowayne Dailey, who said that he has worked at polling stations for the party for 20 years.
However, Dailey was spotted marching proudly alongside Charles who was nominated at the National Heritage Trust building in Morant Bay this afternoon.
“Within every political organisation there will always be issues but we iron things out. We are better than before and we’re going forward. Eastern St Thomas is united now and we ready and we not supporting Dr Michelle Charles 75 per cent, we supporting her 100 per cent. No ifs, no buts,” he said when confronted about his earlier disapproval of her candidacy.
Dailey told The Gleaner that Charles has since stepped up to the plate and has proved that she is the one for the job.
According to him, “She was not given the green light or mandate to go forward but as soon as she was, everything was put in place that was not in place before. Everybody start rally round her. We nuh have no more situation. We going forward.”
Sharing that their candidate will be the one to commandeer the seat that has been dominated by Ferguson, Dailey said, “When you have a properly organised team victory is sure. There’s no doubt, we have a good candidate so now everything sort out, the next time you will talk to me is September 4 and Dr Michelle Charles will no longer be a caretaker, she will be the member of parliament for eastern St Thomas.”
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