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How the West was won - Ennis says sub-par performance, unreadiness cost PNP Portland seat
Published: Thursday | March 12, 2009
Daraine Luton, Staff Reporter
Ennis
FORMER WEST Portland Member of Parliament (MP) Errol 'Jiggs' Ennis has admitted that his last term at the helm of the constituency's [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]leadership[/COLOR][/COLOR] may have hurt the People's National Party (PNP) in the last general election.
The PNP lost West Portland for the first time in 18 years in the September 2007 national poll, when Daryl Vaz of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) beat the PNP's Abe Dabdoub.
The court has disqualified Vaz because he held United States [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]citizenship[/COLOR][/COLOR] at the time of being elected and has forced a by-election.
Vaz is again contesting the seat on the JLP's [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]ticket[/COLOR][/COLOR] while Kenneth Rowe is the contender for the PNP.
Ennis had begun building a dynasty in West Portland until Vaz made significant inroads.
Ennis had won four elections for the People's National Party (PNP) from 1989 but, when he handed the reins of constituency [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]leadership[/COLOR][/COLOR] to Dabdoub, the PNP lost the seat by 944 votes.
"My performance for the most part of that term might not have been my usual high level of performance. It was not of the same high quality as previously," Ennis told The Gleaner last week in an interview.
Strong constituency [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]infrastructure[/COLOR][/COLOR]
Ennis first won the seat by an 871-vote margin and then increased that difference to 1,407 in 1993. He again increased his majority to 2,153 in 1997 but, despite his margin being cut to 281 in the 2002 election, Ennis said he left strong constituency infra-structure in place, which he credited for the PNP's 6,000-plus vote showing in 2007.
Ennis told The Gleaner that the PNP lost West Portland to Vaz in 2007 because "the swing was against us".
"The candidate did not have enough time in the constituency to consolidate it and the supporters did not vote," he said.
According to Ennis, the PNP canvass showed that it had some 8,000 potential PNP voters entering the 2007 election.
"We saw a dropout where about 600 PNP voters just did not vote and about 500 voted against us ... . This was because we ran a less-than-adequate campaign," Ennis added.
Prior to Dabdoub's late entry in West Portland, Doreen Forbes was caretaker and was poised to contest the seat. However, she pulled out at the 11th hour, forcing the PNP to fill the vacancy with Dabdoub, a JLP turncoat.
Ennis told The Gleaner that Forbes would not have won the seat for the PNP.
"Doreen was fractious; her ambitions were too high so it divided the constituency ... . The Doreen influence and the fighting and the infighting ensured that there was not a unified PNP in 2007," Ennis remarked.
Since 2007, the PNP has gone through further bleeding with a bruising internal election, following a challenge on the leadership of Portia Simpson Miller by Dr Peter Phillips.
Simpson Miller prevailed. She is now leading the PNP's charge in West Portland as the party attempts to get Rowe, another JLP turncoat, elected in the March 23 by-election.
According to Ennis, PNP supporters in West Portland are energised.
"They are prepared to vote him (Vaz) out now," Ennis said.
Commenting on Rowe's chances, Ennis said: "I am a seasoned politician and the man looks very positive, as if he can win." daraine.luton@gleanerjm.com
Published: Thursday | March 12, 2009
Daraine Luton, Staff Reporter
Ennis
FORMER WEST Portland Member of Parliament (MP) Errol 'Jiggs' Ennis has admitted that his last term at the helm of the constituency's [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]leadership[/COLOR][/COLOR] may have hurt the People's National Party (PNP) in the last general election.
The PNP lost West Portland for the first time in 18 years in the September 2007 national poll, when Daryl Vaz of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) beat the PNP's Abe Dabdoub.
The court has disqualified Vaz because he held United States [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]citizenship[/COLOR][/COLOR] at the time of being elected and has forced a by-election.
Vaz is again contesting the seat on the JLP's [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]ticket[/COLOR][/COLOR] while Kenneth Rowe is the contender for the PNP.
Ennis had begun building a dynasty in West Portland until Vaz made significant inroads.
Ennis had won four elections for the People's National Party (PNP) from 1989 but, when he handed the reins of constituency [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]leadership[/COLOR][/COLOR] to Dabdoub, the PNP lost the seat by 944 votes.
"My performance for the most part of that term might not have been my usual high level of performance. It was not of the same high quality as previously," Ennis told The Gleaner last week in an interview.
Strong constituency [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]infrastructure[/COLOR][/COLOR]
Ennis first won the seat by an 871-vote margin and then increased that difference to 1,407 in 1993. He again increased his majority to 2,153 in 1997 but, despite his margin being cut to 281 in the 2002 election, Ennis said he left strong constituency infra-structure in place, which he credited for the PNP's 6,000-plus vote showing in 2007.
Ennis told The Gleaner that the PNP lost West Portland to Vaz in 2007 because "the swing was against us".
"The candidate did not have enough time in the constituency to consolidate it and the supporters did not vote," he said.
According to Ennis, the PNP canvass showed that it had some 8,000 potential PNP voters entering the 2007 election.
"We saw a dropout where about 600 PNP voters just did not vote and about 500 voted against us ... . This was because we ran a less-than-adequate campaign," Ennis added.
Prior to Dabdoub's late entry in West Portland, Doreen Forbes was caretaker and was poised to contest the seat. However, she pulled out at the 11th hour, forcing the PNP to fill the vacancy with Dabdoub, a JLP turncoat.
Ennis told The Gleaner that Forbes would not have won the seat for the PNP.
"Doreen was fractious; her ambitions were too high so it divided the constituency ... . The Doreen influence and the fighting and the infighting ensured that there was not a unified PNP in 2007," Ennis remarked.
Since 2007, the PNP has gone through further bleeding with a bruising internal election, following a challenge on the leadership of Portia Simpson Miller by Dr Peter Phillips.
Simpson Miller prevailed. She is now leading the PNP's charge in West Portland as the party attempts to get Rowe, another JLP turncoat, elected in the March 23 by-election.
According to Ennis, PNP supporters in West Portland are energised.
"They are prepared to vote him (Vaz) out now," Ennis said.
Commenting on Rowe's chances, Ennis said: "I am a seasoned politician and the man looks very positive, as if he can win." daraine.luton@gleanerjm.com
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