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KENNETH ROWE, the People's National Party's (PNP) candidate for West Portland, has vowed to take the fight to Daryl Vaz in the March 23 by-election in the constituency.
"We are going to pound the concrete, we are going to go to the hills and the valleys, we are going to take the fight to him and there is going to be a surprise," Rowe told journalists at a press conference at the PNP headquarters on Old Hope Road yesterday.
Rowe, a former Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) member, was selected to represent the PNP in the seat following a historic ruling by the courts which held that Vaz, who was elected in the September 2007 general election, was not qualified to sit in the House of Representatives.
Dual nationality
Vaz, at the time of being elected, was an American citizen. The Constitution prohibits anyone who pledges allegiance to a foreign power from being elected to the House.
Rowe, meanwhile, holds dual nationality. He possesses a Jamaican and a Canadian passport. However, he is qualified under the Constitution to sit in the House as Canada is a Commonwealth nation.
"I am a Jamaican. I have qualified under our Constitution to be elected appropriately and to represent the People's National Party," Rowe said.
Rowe had contested the West Portland seat for the JLP in 2002 and chopped Errol Ennis' 2,153 winning margin which he recorded in 1997 to 281 votes in 2002.
Ennis said Rowe was "an excellent choice".
"When he came to West Portland, he was virtually unknown and with a bit of luck he would have beaten me," Ennis said.
As for the Rowe-Vaz matchup, Ennis said, "I expect him to do very well and if he wins, it would not be a surprise."
Meanwhile, reflecting on the 2002 election, Rowe said he would have won the seat if he had the experience he has now garnered.
"It was my first election, I was naive and I was out there on my own working that seat. I have learnt some lessons. I learnt the strategies, I have learnt the numbers game and how to do this thing properly and how to do it right.
"I am now nine years older, nine years wiser, and surprisingly I am also nine years stronger. Therefore, with that mix, on the 23rd, you are going to get that lovely surprise," Rowe said.
Philosophical differences
Rowe contends that leaving the JLP was a result of philosophical differences and said he was PNP to the core, adding that he admired PNP President Portia Simpson Miller.
The PNP has expressed con-fidence that the party can win the seat despite losing by 944 votes in 2007.
"There is a lot of enthusiasm. All our soundings indicate that it is a seat that we can win," Julian Robinson, the PNP's deputy general secretary, said.
Rejecting claims that Vaz is perceived as a hard-working MP, Rowe said that the perception is being fuelled by "public relations and showboating".
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/glean...ews/news1.html
"We are going to pound the concrete, we are going to go to the hills and the valleys, we are going to take the fight to him and there is going to be a surprise," Rowe told journalists at a press conference at the PNP headquarters on Old Hope Road yesterday.
Rowe, a former Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) member, was selected to represent the PNP in the seat following a historic ruling by the courts which held that Vaz, who was elected in the September 2007 general election, was not qualified to sit in the House of Representatives.
Dual nationality
Vaz, at the time of being elected, was an American citizen. The Constitution prohibits anyone who pledges allegiance to a foreign power from being elected to the House.
Rowe, meanwhile, holds dual nationality. He possesses a Jamaican and a Canadian passport. However, he is qualified under the Constitution to sit in the House as Canada is a Commonwealth nation.
"I am a Jamaican. I have qualified under our Constitution to be elected appropriately and to represent the People's National Party," Rowe said.
Rowe had contested the West Portland seat for the JLP in 2002 and chopped Errol Ennis' 2,153 winning margin which he recorded in 1997 to 281 votes in 2002.
Ennis said Rowe was "an excellent choice".
"When he came to West Portland, he was virtually unknown and with a bit of luck he would have beaten me," Ennis said.
As for the Rowe-Vaz matchup, Ennis said, "I expect him to do very well and if he wins, it would not be a surprise."
Meanwhile, reflecting on the 2002 election, Rowe said he would have won the seat if he had the experience he has now garnered.
"It was my first election, I was naive and I was out there on my own working that seat. I have learnt some lessons. I learnt the strategies, I have learnt the numbers game and how to do this thing properly and how to do it right.
"I am now nine years older, nine years wiser, and surprisingly I am also nine years stronger. Therefore, with that mix, on the 23rd, you are going to get that lovely surprise," Rowe said.
Philosophical differences
Rowe contends that leaving the JLP was a result of philosophical differences and said he was PNP to the core, adding that he admired PNP President Portia Simpson Miller.
The PNP has expressed con-fidence that the party can win the seat despite losing by 944 votes in 2007.
"There is a lot of enthusiasm. All our soundings indicate that it is a seat that we can win," Julian Robinson, the PNP's deputy general secretary, said.
Rejecting claims that Vaz is perceived as a hard-working MP, Rowe said that the perception is being fuelled by "public relations and showboating".
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/glean...ews/news1.html
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