SANTA CRUZ, St Elizabeth – People’s National Party (PNP) councillor for the Myersville Division, Winston Sinclair, insisted Monday that he will contest the upcoming Local Government elections as an Independent – underlining divisions that have existed within the party in South East St Elizabeth since last year.

“I have made my decision, I will contest the Myersville Division as an Independent,” Sinclair who has held Myersville for the PNP for the past nine years, told the Observer.

Sinclair’s pronouncement followed confirmation by the PNP on Sunday that Richard Parchment, a businessman based in Southfield, had been selected by delegates to replace him in the Local Government Elections that are expected before Christmas.

Myersville, traditionally seen as the heartland of PNP strength in South East St Elizabeth, was the only division in the constituency won by the party in the 2003 Local Government Elections. Back then, the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) took control of the parish councils nine to six, and also won a majority islandwide.

Sinclair – who said he had initially made his decision to run as an Independent late last year, then changed his mind and reapplied to be the party’s candidate – claimed the delegates’ meeting at which Parchment was selected was held without his knowledge.

“I didn’t even know about it, I just heard that a meeting was held and they selected someone,” he said.

Monday, Parchment who says he wants to bring “unity” and “21st century standard” representation to Myersville, expressed regret at Sinclair’s decision.

“I don’t think it’s the correct decision he has taken. He should let good sense prevail. However, if he wants to run as an Independent then I wish him well,” said Parchment.

The SE St Elizabeth constituency organisation has been divided since the decision of the party hierarchy late last year to replace then sitting Member of Parliament, Len Blake with businessman Norman Horne as the party’s candidate for the general elections held September 3. Horne lost the constituency by 544 votes to the JLP’s Franklyn Witter. The JLP narrowly won the national poll 32-28 after 18 years in Opposition.

On Sunday, the re-elected chairman of the PNP’s Region Five Michael Peart told journalists that the party was convinced that the internal divisions led to Horne’s loss and was intent on correcting the situation.

“Based on the margin of defeat (Parliamentary Elections) in South East St Elizabeth if we did not have an internal division, I think we would have won that constituency comfortably,” said Peart, who was returned unopposed during the Region Five executive annual general meeting at the St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS).

“Now that we have seen the consequences of a disunited constituency, I think steps are being taken to unite the constituency as quickly as possible to ensure that we win at least two of those divisions…,” he added.

Monday, there were also grumblings of discontent in NE St Elizabeth where sitting councillor for the Balaclava Division, Rodney Barnes, has been replaced by Everton Fisher as the PNP’s candidate. Barnes told the Observer that his divisional executive had complained to the PNP Secretariat from “two years ago” about irregularities in the selection of Fisher but these had not been dealt with.

“I just decide to play it cool,” said Barnes on Monday. Fisher referred the Observer to the party’s secretariat.

On Sunday, Peart announced that candidates for all but three of the divisions in Region Five comprising Manchester and St Elizabeth had been decided. The three, the Mandeville Division in Manchester and the Black River and Mountainside Divisions in St Elizabeth would be decided within days, he said.

In the case of Black River, PNP sources say the current parish councillor, Kern Smalling, had “yielded” to the Reverend Stanley Redwood who lost in the parliamentary elections to the JLP’s Christopher Tufton for the SW St Elizabeth seat. But Redwood has since withdrawn for personal reasons.

In the Brompton Division of SW St Elizabeth, Dorothy Buchanan, wife of party general secretary Donald Buchanan who has held sway since 1998, has made way for businesswoman Sandra Whyte, citing business reasons.

And in Siloah, the long-serving Hubert Baker who has held the division for the PNP since 1986 has made way for Audie Myers.

In Manchester where the selection process has apparently been far less contentious than St Elizabeth, sitting PNP councillors Pheaneas Campbell (Porus Division) and Edrick Preddie (Newport Division) have made way for Beverley Swaby and Anthony Bryce respectively.