By-election called for West Portland

[evanovitch]

The Court of Appeal has just delivered its long awaited ruling in the legal battle for the West Portland seat.

The President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Seymour Panton just handed down the judgement that a by election is to be held in West Portland to decide whether the People's National Party's Abe Dabdoub or the Jamaica Labour Party's Daryl Vaz will be the sitting MP for the constituency.

PNP candidate for West Portland, Abe Dabdoub brought the case against the JLP Member of Parliament for the constituency, Daryl Vaz.

Mr. Dabdoub took the matter to the Court of Appeal after Chief Justice, Zaila McCalla ruled in April last year that a by-election should be called in the constituency.

The Chief Justice also ruled that Vaz was not eligible to be an MP because he was a US citizen at the time of the election in 2007.

Under the Constitution, no person, who, by his own act, pledges allegiance to a foreign power, is qualified to sit in the House of Representatives or the Senate.

The Jamaica Labour Party, which has a thin majority of 32 seats to the PNP's 28,

[SmoothOperator]

Re: JLP starts By-election Campaign called for West Portland

Funny I was just listening to Nationwide because I wanted to hear more about the ruling. Well lo and behold the JLP is already running a radio campaign for a rally in Buff Bay Portland. And just in Bruce announced that the By Election will be held on March 23. The man is wasting no time.

[Q3210]

Re: JLP starts By-election Campaign called for West Portland

The PNP beneath their facade of deceit have also just recently found Bad-dude not to be a suitable candidate to run against Vaz. They might just have to use Bad-dude all over again `cause dem caant find nuhbaddy in time for the 6th, nomination day.

[evanovitch]

New PNP candidate for West Portland sure of victory

New PNP candidate for West Portland sure of victory
Monday, 02 March 2009

Newly announced People's National Party (PNP) candidate for West Portland <span style="font-weight: bold">Kenneth Rowe </span>is insisting he will defeat the Jamaica Labour Party's Daryl Vaz.

<span style="font-weight: bold">The PNP Sunday disclosed that Mr. Rowe will replace Abe Dabdoub in the March 23 by-election.</span>

Mr. Dabdoub had led the legal challenge in the dual citizenship battle over the seat.

Speaking with the RJR News Centre on Monday morning, Mr. Rowe was adamant that the people of the constituency are firmly behind him.

&quot;I have been working in this constituency for the past seven years. I know the constituency, I know the people, I know their needs, they know me. We have been working with them and they know that I have their interest at heart and I will be a very good representative for the People's National Party,&quot;

Mr. Rowe also dismissed suggestions that his previous membership in the JLP will be a negative factor.

‘Absolutely not. The plan, the vision that I had for the people of West Portland seven years ago has not changed, I have remained true to my core values that infrastructural development is a must for that constituency, there must be a way to find wealth development strategy for the people of West Portland. It is a farming community, there has to be a way to stop the migration from rural areas to Kingston and to find wealth creation methods within constituencies such as Western Portland,&quot; said Mr. Rowe.

The party announced on Sunday night that it is withdrawing Abe Dabdoub as the candidate for the by-election on March 23.

It claimed Mr. Dabdoub would be concentrating on the four dual citizenship cases still before the courts.

Mr. Rowe previously ran on the JLP's ticket but lost in West Portland in 2002.

He withdrew his membership after he was replaced by Mr. Vaz in the September 2007 General Elections.

[RichD]

Re: New PNP candidate for West Portland sure of victory

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">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.</div></div> ah sah

[Dr.Dudd]

Re: New PNP candidate for West Portland sure of victory

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: RichD</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">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.</div></div> ah sah </div></div> Menbner of the commonwealth.

[RichD]

Re: New PNP candidate for West Portland sure of victory

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Dr.Dudd</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: RichD</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">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.</div></div> ah sah </div></div> Menbner of the commonwealth. </div></div> yes i recognize the technicality ...it shows how ridiculous that requirement in the constitution is

[Dr.Dudd]

Re: New PNP candidate for West Portland sure of victory

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: RichD</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Dr.Dudd</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: RichD</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">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.</div></div> ah sah </div></div> Menbner of the commonwealth. </div></div> yes i recognize the technicality ...it shows how ridiculous that requirement in the constitution is </div></div> Today yes...,but not when the laws was in place. during those days a Jamaican could go to Canada without visa and work, while they could not do so to the US.
So there was a difference. We were closer then,

[RichD]

Re: New PNP candidate for West Portland sure of victory

a so ?

so if we were close to a non-commonwealth country then that clause in the constitution would not apply?

[Dr.Dudd]

Re: New PNP candidate for West Portland sure of victory

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: RichD</div><div class="ubbcode-body">a so ?

so if we were close to a non-commonwealth country then that clause in the constitution would not apply? </div></div>
What you mean non-commonwealth?? Canada was and still a member of the British commonwealth.
This was the case in all Commonwealth countries, inclidiong the UK. all they had to do was to pay the fare.

[Dyoll_73]

Re: New PNP candidate for West Portland sure of victory

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: evanovitch</div><div class="ubbcode-body">New PNP candidate for West Portland sure of victory
Monday, 02 March 2009

Newly announced People's National Party (PNP) candidate for West Portland <span style="font-weight: bold">Kenneth Rowe </span>is insisting he will defeat the Jamaica Labour Party's Daryl Vaz.</div></div>

Typical election talk, or him have some <span style="font-style: italic">plan</span> devised?

[Dyoll_73]

Re: New PNP candidate for West Portland sure of victory

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Dr.Dudd</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: RichD</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">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.</div></div> ah sah </div></div> Menbner of the commonwealth. </div></div>

Imagine a Bajan anglophile sitting in Jamaica's parliament. We would be doomed?

[Sinco01]

Re: New PNP candidate for West Portland sure of victory



link ...


<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="color: #000099"><span style="font-size: 17pt">Dabdoub going back to court</span></span></span>

Wants to verify Vaz's citizenship

BY ERICA VIRTUE Sunday Observer writer [email protected]

Sunday, March 08, 2009




Abe Dabdoub, whose legal action in 2007 led to the disqualification of Daryl Vaz as the Portland Western member of parliament, said he will be heading to the courts again on Monday to ascertain the veracity of Vaz's citizenship.

Dabdoub made known his plan Friday after Vaz was again nominated as the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) candidate for the seat in the March 23 court-ordered by-election.

Dabdoub, who lost the seat to Vaz in the September 2007 general elections, asked Director of Elections Orette Fisher if he had ascertained whether Vaz is now a Jamaican citizen.



VAZ... went to US Embassy in Kingston in April 2008 to start the process of renouncing his American citizenship

Dabdoub's query was in reference to Vaz's much-publicised act of going to the US Embassy in Kingston to start the process of renouncing his American citizenship in April 2008.

Vaz took the action after Chief Justice Zaila McCalla, on reviewing an election petition brought by Dabdoub, ruled that Vaz was not qualified to sit in the Parliament because he held dual citizenship at the time of the elections. But McCalla also handed Dabdoub his first defeat in the long-running court battle by throwing out his bid to be awarded the seat and ordering a by-election.

Dabdoub had argued that the election was void because Vaz was not qualified to be nominated.

After McCalla's ruling, Dabdoub took the case to the Appeal Court which upheld the chief justice's decision. The court also said it would deliver its written judgement at a later date.



DABDOUB... just because he says he is Jamaican, what is the evidence of that?

On Friday, Dabdoub, a former member of the JLP, signalled that he did not believe that Vaz had renounced his US citizenship.

&quot;You can't just take his word for it,&quot; Dabdoub told the Sunday Observer. &quot;It was the same thing that happened in the 2007 general elections. Just because he says he is Jamaican, what is the evidence of that?&quot;

Asked to comment on Dabdoub's query, Fisher said the matter was one for the courts.

&quot;Mr Dabdoub is well within his rights to go to courts,&quot; Fisher told the Sunday Observer.

Dabdoub said the Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ) should have asked for proof of citizenship.

&quot;And I am saying that they wrong because I showed them that Section 27 (3) of the Representation of the People Act gives the returning officer the right to reject a nomination for non-compliance with the Act,&quot; said Dabdoub, who is an attorney. &quot;It's a pity that the Appeal Court hasn't given its judgement in writing, because had they done so, I don't think the Electoral Office could adopt the stupidity that Walker insisted on.&quot;

His reference was to a statement issued by then Director of Elections Danville Walker after nominations for the 2007 general elections that Vaz was properly nominated.

Walker issued the statement after Dabdoub sent out a notice to West Portland voters warning them that a vote for Vaz would be a vote wasted.

[Sinco01]

Re: New PNP candidate for West Portland sure of victory


link ...


<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="font-size: 17pt"><span style="color: #CC0000">West Portland hotly contested - A must-win, says PNP</span></span> We're taking nothing for granted, says JLP</span>

Published: Sunday | March 8, 2009


Photos by Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer



LEFT: Daryl Vaz (centre), Jamaica Labour Party candidate in the upcoming by-election for the West Portland constituency, is flanked by Prime Minister Bruce Golding (right) and his wife, Ann-Marie, on nomination day, last Friday.
RIGHT: The PNP-nominated candidate, Kenneth Rowe (left), celebrates with party president Portia Simpson Miller and other comrades in Buff Bay, Portland, on nomination day, last Friday. The constituency goes to the polls on March 23 to elect a new member of parliament.

Daraine Luton, Staff Reporter

THE OPPOSITION People's National Party (PNP) has attached great importance to winning West Portland in the March 23 by-election, with president Portia Simpson Miller describing the contest as a &quot;must-win&quot; for the party.

&quot;We are not here for joke. We are here to see what we can do to ensure that we take home West Portland for the People's National Party,&quot; Simpson Miller told journalists in West Portland on Friday, which was nomination day.

At a later rally, Simpson Miller blasted the Government for its handling of the current financial crisis in Jamaica.

The obviously angry PNP leader, who was addressing a capacity crowd at Lynch Park in Buff Bay, Portland, said that the Bruce Golding administration had once again shown scant regard for the people and were now attempting to cover up their devious deeds, which had brought insult to Jamaica and the Caribbean.

Fertiliser controversy

Simpson Miller was referring to the controversy surrounding the Government's importation of cheap fertiliser to Jamaica.

&quot;This could never happen under my leadership,&quot; she said. &quot;There is no way I could have sent Roger Clarke to seek cheap fertiliser for our farmers, and instead of fertiliser he brings back shaving cream. And they have the nerve to bring foreigners here to help them to cover up their dirty work.&quot;

Simpson Miller also lashed out at the prime minister for statements he allegedly made on radio Friday that she should put a gag order on opposition senator Mark Golding, as well as reveal who was the opposition spokesman on finance.

&quot;The people of Jamaica already know who is the PNP's spokesman on finance. What the people do not know is who the real minister of finance is in the JLP,&quot; she added.

Earlier, Peter Phillips, who lost to Simpson Miller in a second bid to become party president last year, stated that the PNP was more united than ever before. Phillips said that the signs were obvious, as the large turnout of senior members of the party was a signal that the PNP was united and committed to the cause of the people.

More than 18,000 voters are registered to vote in the March 23 by-election, which the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) has all but described as a cakewalk.

&quot;I would be very disappointed if I were to win with less than a 2,000-vote margin,&quot; Daryl Vaz, the JLP's candidate, told The Gleaner last week.

Full throttle

The PNP has nominated Kenneth Rowe to contest the seat. The party has also turned on its election machinery full throttle and has called on the service of all members in what appears to have been a fractious party.

&quot;We have hard work and they have hard work to do, too. It would be a stupid political party to believe that in any election it is just a walkover,&quot; Simpson Miller said. &quot;We are not treating it as a walkover; we are treating it as an election we want to win and we must win.&quot;

Prime Minister Bruce Golding told The Gleaner on Friday that the JLP, of which he is leader, will not under-estimate the PNP in the election.

&quot;We are not taking anything for granted. We never do. We leave nothing to chance. We are going to be working hard, up and down the constituency, from now until polls close at 5 o'clock on the 23rd of March, but we are absolutely confident,&quot; Golding said.

Confident of victory

The prime minister added: &quot;We are working hard and we will leave the rest to the people. We are confident that Daryl is going to be victorious and we can get on with the business of government and get beyond the distraction that this has put us through.&quot;

Meanwhile, Luther Buchanan, PNP deputy general secretary and campaign manager for Kenneth Rowe, is asserting that the writing is on the wall for Vaz.

&quot;The canvasses are not yet completed but thus far, from what we have seen, the candidate for the People's National Party, who is a latecomer, is equal to the candidate for the Jamaica Labour Party,&quot; Buchanan said. &quot;... There is great possibility of an outside victory for the People's National Party.&quot;

Former vice-president, Dr Peter Phillips, has also said that the prospects look great for the PNP.

&quot;There is great dissatisfaction with the way the Jamaica Labour Party government has been conducting the affairs of the country,&quot; Phillips stated. &quot;I believe that if we get the organisational work done, there is a very good chance - more than 50 per cent - that Comrade Rowe will be elected as the next member of parliament,&quot; he added.

The PNP held West Portland between 1989 and 2007 until Vaz showed up and broke the dynasty with a 944-vote win.

Vaz was subsequently disqualified as he had sworn allegiance to a foreign power. A by-election was ordered by the court and Vaz is again running on the JLP's ticket, having renounced his US citizenship. PNP candidate Abe Dabdoub, who lost to Vaz in the September 2007 general election, dropped out of the race this time.

- Additional reporting by Gareth Davis

[email protected]

[Dr.Dudd]

Re: New PNP candidate for West Portland sure of victory

This is the epitome of objective reporting.