MEMBER of Parliament for North East St Catherine Abe Dabdoub yesterday crossed the floor at Gordon House to join the Government, ending 10 months of speculation about his political future.

Dabdoub’s move was celebrated with applause and shouts of “quashie” and “good riddance” from the Opposition benches, but was greeted with laughter from the Government members who welcomed the opportunity to embarrass the Opposition with the symbolic gesture.

Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller hugged her newest party colleague as he headed to his new seat.

Dabdoub told reporters after the sitting of the House of Representatives that since becoming an independent MP on March 12 last year, he found a “convergence of views” with Government MPs and felt “more comfortable” within their ranks.

The attorney-at-law/businessman, who ran on an Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) ticket both times he was elected – in 1997 and 2002 – is now expected to turn his attention to West Portland, where it is speculated that he is to be named the ruling People’s National Party (PNP) candidate.

His crossing of the floor now gives the Government 36 seats to the Opposition’s 24. The 2002 general election ended with 34 PNP MPs and 26 JLP MPs being elected, but Dabdoub’s crossing, which was preceded by that of Verna Parchment (North West St Ann) on May 10 last year, after a similar fallout with the new leadership of the JLP, has added two seats to the Government’s total.

Dabdoub had lost to the PNP’s Phyllis Mitchell on the original count in 1997 but filed a petition in the Supreme Court contesting the results. In 2001, the court ruled in his favour, awarding him the seat with a majority of 32 votes. He then won easily in 2002, with a margin of more than 600 votes over the same opponent.

But the loss of the Mount Industry Division in a by-election in 2004 and frequent public calls by constituents for his removal for what they claimed was lack of performance, eventually led to his replacement by the JLP last year. He subsequently resigned from the JLP and sat in the House as an independent member.

Dabdoub, who sometimes had disagreements with former JLP leader Edward Seaga, apparently had a strained relationship with the new JLP leadership, headed by Bruce Golding.

In an article published in the Observer in March last year, Dabdoub said that his decision to resign from the JLP did not come lightly.

He said that his resignation was prompted by the issue of “whether I consider in the best interest of the country, the JLP, under its present leadership, to be fit and proper to entrust with the governance of Jamaica”.

Dabdoub claimed that the JLP had been “captured” by monied persons whose interest would be served by a JLP Government, under the current leadership, instead of the historical interest of the underprivileged and the working class.

“I came to the conclusion that there was no point in fighting to remain in a political party which no longer subscribed to the philosophy upon which it was founded. I cannot continue to support a party which has lost its focus and whose leadership is intent on achieving power at any cost,” he said then.