Montego Bay: Claiming that the selection of the People’s National Party’s candidate for West Central St James was not an easy one, party leader and Prime Minister P J Patterson this week urged the constituency to unite around Montego Bay mayor Hugh Solomon.

Earlier this week, Solomon was given the nod over his predecessor, Arthur Gilchrist — a decision made after a spirited, and sometimes heated, campaign between supporters of both men. But some people in the Gilchrist camp have questioned the fairness of the selection, and have called for the secret results of polls and survey conducted during the process to be made public.

“I can only say that any constituency that can attract two aspirants of that calibre is a constituency very rich in leadership resources,” Patterson told journalists at a press briefing in Montego Bay Tuesday. “And all one can ask at this time, is that this can be converted on a united basis into a team that would ensure success for the PNP in that constituency.”

Throughout the campaign, Gilchrist had strong support at the grassroots level while Solomon was being backed by high-ranking party members like area chairman, Derrick Kellier. But with concerns that Solomon may have been tainted by the Montego Bay street people scandal, the party undertook an elaborate and lengthy selection process before giving him the go-ahead.

According to the party leader, the decision was not an easy one to make.

“Let me not pretend it was an easy decision. Both comrade Gilchrist and comrade Solomon are persons who have given service to the party and within local government over a considerable period of time –comrade Gilchrist for a much longer period than comrade Solomon,” Patterson said. “It is clear that within the constituency both commanded support in particular sectors and sections of the constituency. We had to weigh all of this.”

In addition to the poll, survey and consultation normally done in unrecognised constituencies, Patterson himself added a fourth component.

“The fourth (step) was one which I insisted on, in view of the results of the three previous methods and the need to make sure that we had the best possible decision. (It) was a random survey undertaken by people from outside the area on a specific day,” he said. “All those four results were taken into account in coming to our decision.”