Finally bowing to the pressure of more than a dozen years of internal wrangling and fights, Edward Seaga last night announced that he will step down as leader of the Jamaica Labour Party in November, after three decades at the helm.

“The timing would allow a new leader to consolidate the JLP in 2005 before the local government elections of 2006,” Seaga said.

Last night’s announcement was likely to intensify the already strong jockeying for the post-Seaga leadership of the JLP, of which Bruce Golding, the party’s chairman and de facto leader of its so-called reformist wing, is considered to be the front-runner.

People close to Golding say that he was preparing to challenge Seaga for the leadership in November, but now he is expected to have to confront a number of other figures, including deputy leader Audley Shaw and possibly the chairman of the parliamentary group, Derrick Smith.

His intention to leave at the time of the party’s next annual conference began to circulate late last week after he told his closest associates of his plan, and was hinted at in a Sunday Observer story which quoted one JLP insider as saying that a major announcement by the party leader was imminent.

“Mr Seaga wants to leave and has indicated that much to a minute number of selected lieutenants,” a JLP source told Observer reporter Erica Virtue on Friday. “He was going to serve notice of departure and tell the meeting (on Sunday) that he will not be seeking re-election in November.”

Seaga in last night’s statement said he had advised six members of the parliamentary group of his plan at a private meeting on June 23 – a week ago.

But the idea of an early departure by Seaga was quickly ridiculed by his opponents when the Observer canvassed opinions on Saturday. They saw the rumour as a ploy by the wily leader to buy time for himself.

Last night Seaga, 74, said that he had intended to announce the decision at last Sunday’s controversially postponed meeting of the JLP’s Central Executive and would have done so at the next one on July 18, except that the information began to leak out.

Seaga became the leader of the JLP in 1974, succeeding the party’s founder Sir Alexander Bustamante but displacing its political head and former Prime Minister Hugh Shearer.

With a reputation for being tough and combative, Seaga has also been accused of having an authoritarian leadership style – qualities that were believed to have served him well in the turbulent 1970s when he led the JLP substantially to the right-of-centre to combat the democratic socialist People’s National Party that was said to be taking Jamaica communist.

Seaga lost the general election of 1976 but led the JLP to victory in the turbulent election of October 1980, a campaign in which more than 800 people died. He was the second head of government to be welcomed to the White House by the then new US President Ronald Reagan.

Seaga led the JLP to an uncontested second term in 1983 – the PNP boycotted the poll, claiming that more than 150,000 voters were being disfranchised because of the use of an out-dated voters’ register – but lost the government in 1989.

Since then the JLP has largely been in turmoil, lurching from crisis to crisis.

In the early 1990s there was the Gang of Five battle when a number of senior party leaders, who were deemed to be opposed to Seaga’s leadership, claimed to have been spied on.

The fall-out from the Gang of Five including the expulsion of the JLP’s current general secretary Karl Samuda and a court restraint by former minister, Pearnel Charles against his expulsion. Charles was allegedly beaten by opponents at a party conference in 1992.

This was followed in 1995 by the crisis of the Western 11 that ended in a severe split in the party, triggered by the decision of a number of senior members, mostly from western Jamaica, to send a letter to Seaga about his leadership style and his capacity to lead the JLP to an election victory.

This crisis precipitated Golding’s departure from the JLP for seven years to form the National Democratic Movement (NDM), which preached constitutional reform and a more inclusive style of politics.

Golding, until then Seaga’s anointed successor, returned to the party on the eve of the 2002 general election and was credited with bringing the JLP close to victory in the poll.

But his return led to new and intensified rivalries in the JLP. He provided a rallying point for mainly young leaders impatient for a leadership change, and a source of distrust for the Seaga loyalists.

Much of this has been played out over the last seven months when Golding himself was re-elected chairman of the party and several of his supporters took over top positions in the JLP.

It is some of these issues which would have precipitated Seaga’s apparently abrupt decision to announce his retirement, despite his previous stance that he wanted to have a structured departure.

The latest round of the imbroglio was the party leader’s decision on Friday to postpone the Central Executive meeting that was planned for Montego Bay on Sunday.

The primary agenda issue at Sunday’s meeting was to have been the fate of Dr Dennis Minott, who has been accused of bringing the party into disrepute for his decision to ask the political ombudsman to investigate claims of vote-buying in last November’s internal election.

Minott’s complaint was against members of the camp of James Robertson, who defied Seaga to challenge, and beat, strong Seaga loyalist, Olivia “Babsy” Grange for the job as deputy leader in charge of eastern Jamaica.

Seaga said he postponed the meeting because not enough persons had been informed. His opponents claimed that he wanted to shield Minott and to side-step questions about a timetable for departure.

Yesterday, Seaga said: “I postponed that meeting to allow for better attendance, among other things. Arising out of my postponement of the Central Executive to July 18, I planned to advise the party (of my retirement) at that time.

“However, it appears that information of my intended announcement is beginning to become public. I choose, therefore, to make this public announcement at this time in order to ensure that it is accurately portrayed.”

EDWARD SEAGA

1930: Born in Boston, US, to Jamaican parents

Educated at the Wolmers Boys’ in Kingston, and Harvard University in the United States.

Political career

1959: Nominated to Legislative Council

1962: Elected MP for Western Kingston

1962 – 1967: Minister of Development and Social

Welfare

1967 – 1972: Minister of Finance and Planning

1974: Became leader of the Jamaica Labour Party

and Opposition Leader

1980: Became prime minister after beating Michael

Manley’s PNP in a bitterly fought election

1989: Lost general election to Michael Manley’s PNP

and has been leader of the Opposition since.

Seaga got married to Mitsy Constantine (Miss Jamaica 1964) in 1965 and had three children – Annabella (daughter); Andrew (son); and Christopher (adopted son). The couple divorced in 1995.

In 1996 he married Carla Frances Vendreys. The couple have one child – Gabrielle, born September 2002.