Opposition Leader Andrew Holness said yesterday that those who failed to unseat him as leader must — sooner rather than later — acknowledge and respect the mandate given to him by the delegates of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).

Speaking to a large number of Corporate Area delegates at a meeting on the campus of the University of Technology Jamaica (UTech), Holness said it cannot be that those who opposed his leadership talk about the importance of democracy in challenging him, then refuse to accede to the will of the people after he is re-elected.

“Once you have given the mandate, I can’t stand around and allow people to disrespect that mandate that you have given…So what you will be seeing, going forward, is a decisive but just leader,” he said.

“At some point in time, preferably sooner than later, there must be a submission to the will of the people,” Holness told the crowd as he explained the positions he has taken since his re-election on November 10, and his plans for the party going forward.

“I have to act very quickly, to ensure that our friends and colleagues move quickly, themselves, to acknowledge and respect the mandate given by you the delegates,” he said. “The quicker we get that out of the way, the better it will be.”

He said that it was for this reason that he has moved to appoint a new shadow cabinet, which will have the duty of holding the Government accountable, advocating the party’s policies and bringing them to public attention. However, Holness said that his actions, since last week, should not be interpreted as a judgement on the future of the affected members.

“There are some members who are very valuable to the process of holding the Government accountable and in advocating our policies, as well as educating the public, who are not in the shadow cabinet now. But I foresee it in the very near future, once we get over this reluctance and uncertainty towards accepting the mandate of the people,” he said.

“Once we get over that quickly, then there is always room for people who are competent and people who have the trust of the people in the shadow cabinet of the Jamaica Labour Party,” Holness said.

“They may not be in the shadow cabinet at this point in time, but I am certain that, in the near future, once it is clear that there is an acceptance of the mandate that you have given, there is always space for them in the shadow cabinet,” he said.

The meeting was chaired by JLP Deputy General Secretary Audley Gordon. Chairman of JLP Area One and Councillor for the Waterloo Division in North East St Andrew Winston Ennis also spoke.