Jamaicans will go to the polls to elect a new government within the next six months, general-secretary of the ruling People’s National Party (PNP) Donald Buchanan said yesterday.

Buchanan made the announcement minutes after the party’s National Executive Council ended a meeting at the Ebony Park HEART academy in Clarendon.

The party, which is currently auditing its constituencies organised in six regions across the country, said it is moving closer to completing its candidates selections, with only one constituency to go.

“Well, the People’s National Party, at this time, is where we would want to be in terms of our readiness,” said Buchanan. “You all recognise that we have another six months before an election is due. It does not mean that the elections will be held at the very end. It does not also mean that it is going to be held up front. But somewhere in that period, it will be held.”

The disclosure yesterday, has now effectively placed both parties in full campaign mode, with the PNP starting later than the main Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), which has been campaigning for the last year.

Buchanan said the audit is being carried out by a team of volunteers made up of 60 of the party’s most experienced comrades.

The main objective of the audit, he said, is to inform the party’s secretariat and the national campaign committee of the readiness of constituencies islandwide.

“We have completed Kingston Central, and all nine constituencies in Region six – the parishes of Westmoreland, Hanover and St James; and this weekend we completed four in Region One – the parishes of Trewlany and St Ann,” he disclosed.

The audit, he said, will be completed by month-end.

He said the party was now putting in order the business of its 3,000 groups with the election of officers to be completed before month-end. Reports are to be submitted to the PNP secretariat by May 11.

“The most important thing we are looking for from the constituency audit is to make sure that the structures of the party are in place,” Buchanan said, adding that those structures include divisional, constituency and campaign committees, groups, polling division organisation and outreach activities.

Divisional conferences in 227 electoral divisions for local government elections were also discussed. According to Buchanan, these are to be completed by June.

“April, May and June is the designated period for the holding of divisional conferences, and we have asked all constituencies to submit the schedule of their divisional conferences, so that we can help in co-ordinating the assignment of speakers to these conferences,” he said.