Golding said Holness had no choice but to announce September 3 election date
Ainsworth Morris / Our Today
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People’s National Party (PNP) President Mark Golding says Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness had no option but to call the General Election for September 3.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced the date during a mass rally in Half-Way Tree on Sunday.
“I think he had to call it now, because he painted himself into a corner, so much so, that the general secretary [of the PNP, Dayton Campbell] was able to accurately say [Saturday night] that nomination day would be on the 18th [of August] and the election would be on the 3rd of September.
“That’s unprecedented. Where an opposing general secretary is able to say accurately what the date would be, and he had no options really,” Golding said on Sunday evening during a media interview at a PNP rally.
“Had he [Dr Holness] been in a position to confidently move forward into an election, he would have called it long ago, but we’re ready, we are prepared, we have done the work and our party is united and strong,” he said.
Golding also noted that the PNP has used the last few months to further refine their message of hope for the people of Jamaica. He said the policies and programmes the PNP is putting forward are relevant and will tackle some of the deep-seated issues that face this nation.
“We’ve done a lot of work strengthening the organisation of the party. I’ve been on the road all over the country. The people have taken very well to me and I’m looking forward to running through the tape and forming the next government so we can get the work of the people going,” Golding confidently said.
With the intention to launch their manifesto on Tuesday, August 12, Golding remained tight-lipped about what to expect from the PNP.
Golding said some key points for the PNP’s manifesto are coming from the budget debate, with issues around housing, land, education, health, governance and some of the real challenges around those things.
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