SHAW... angered delegates with his decision to run for chairman

AUDLEY Shaw yesterday backed out of the race for the chairmanship of the Jamaica Labour Party, hours after executives for the region for which he is deputy leader made it known that he couldn't count on their support against Bruce Golding.

But in the statement announcing the withdrawal of his candidacy, Shaw made no specific mention of the decision taken by the top leaders of the JLP's Area Council 3 at an emergency meeting on Saturday. Instead, he said that he had taken his decision to preserve party unity and to remove a perception that he was attempting to keep Golding out of the JLP's leadership ranks.

"Several persons have made the point that since I already hold the post of deputy leader and Bruce Golding does not at present hold an officer post in the JLP, my candidacy could be perceived as seeking to prevent him from holding a post in the party," Shaw said in his statement. "This perception is unfortunate, as I consider him to be a valuable member of the party."

"...Accordingly, in the interest of party unity, continuing the party's rebuilding process and building upon the JLP's success in recent elections, I have decided not to contest the post of chairman," he added.

This development means that Golding, who returned to the JLP just before the general election a year ago, will be a shoo-in for the post unless there is a last-minute nomination before the formal selection on Sunday.

This about-face by Shaw came less than 24 hours after he had late Saturday night reconfirmed his candidacy to the Observer, and analysts insisted that the decision to withdraw was a direct result of the message sent from the Area Council 3 executive meeting in Ocho Rios that was requested by Central Clarendon MP, Mike Henry.

JLP insiders said that 10 of those present voted against endorsing Shaw's candidacy, against two abstentions. Only Norman Horne, the JLP senator and constituency caretaker for Central Manchester, backed Shaw's decision to seek the chairmanship.

"We are not supporting Audley's decision to run for the chairmanship," a member of the regional council told the Observer early yesterday. "We can't stop him from running, but he will not have our support."

An area council resolution had also said that if Shaw insisted on continuing with his candidacy, he should resign as deputy leader.

Delegates were angered by the fact that he had not first indicated his intention to seek the post -- a fact for which Shaw apologised on Saturday -- but also held that he could not seek nomination for two positions in the same election cycle.

"The elections at the central executive (for chairman and general-secretary and their deputies ) is a continuation of what happened at the annual conference last week," said one Area Council 3 member. "He should not have accepted nomination as deputy leader for the council if he is going to be seeking the chairmanship."

Shaw had told the Observer Saturday night that the JLP's constitution was silent on the issue of seeking one position while still being in another, and had suggested that if he failed in his bid to become chairman he could just continue as a deputy leader.

This explanation, though, did not sit well with Henry.

"The deputy leader post has never been a stepping stone," he told the Observer yesterday. "It is a major political arm. As a consequence, you cannot run and if you lose step back up to the post."

Golding was at the time chairman of the party and heir-apparent to JLP leader Edward Seaga when he left the party in 1995 and formed the National Democratic Movement (NDM) to pursue his agenda of constitutional and political reform.

While Golding personally came to symbolise the ideas of political transformation in Jamaica, the NDM didn't gain traction. His return to the JLP was on the basis that it would embrace some of his agenda and consider the others. His return to the JLP gave a fillip to what was considered a faltering election campaign.

Golding has quickly re-emerged as the front-runner -- ahead of Shaw -- for the post-Seaga leadership of the JLP and is considered the spiritual leader of the reformist wing of the party. His decision to seek the post of chairman was being seen as a move to gain an official platform in the party from which to command greater clout and launch an eventual leadership run.

Golding's stocks are already up with last week's election of two others on the reformist wing, Dr Horace Chang and James Robertson, to deputy leaders' positions, defeating Seaga loyalists, Ed Bartlett and Olivia "Babsy" Grange.

But surprisingly last week, Shaw announced his candidacy for the chairmanship, a move that was seen as an attempt by elements of the party close to Seaga to thwart Golding's ambition. The decision was believed to have been engineered by pro-Seaga factions in the party concerned about Golding's fast rise and that there may be a campaign to dump Seaga before he is ready to retire.

A Golding/Shaw race at this time was likely to be an indicator of what would happen in a post-Seaga contest and there was an assumption that the loser, especially if it was Shaw, would be mortally wounded. Shaw made reference to this in his withdrawal statement.

"Several persons have referred to opinion polls showing Mr Golding and myself as leading contenders for future leadership of the JLP and have pointed out that a contest between us at this time could be perceived as related to leadership succession in the party -- a perception that is also unfortunate and not in the best interest of the party," he said.

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