JAMAICA Labour Party (JLP) senator, Dr Christopher Tufton says he is still interested in the West Central St Catherine seat, and has chided his party secretariat for its “deafening silence” on the non-selection of a candidate.

Tufton told residents of the Point Hill community in the constituency yesterday that he is “very comfortable and confident” about the support of the majority of the delegates, but that the indecisiveness and uncertainty around the selection of a JLP candidate for West Central St Catherine is frustrating the JLP workers and delegates, and “threatens the prospects of the seat in the next general election”.

He said the lack of a clear position from the party on the candidacy for the seat, was “unfortunate”, given that there has been talk of a general election looming on the horizon. Councillor Devon Wint also has an interest in the seat.

“When people ask me what is going on, I say ask the leadership of the party. I say I am as uncertain as you are, but what is sure, this uncertainty is not good for democracy or for the JLP that should be preparing itself organisationally for a general election. I get the calls of frustration every day and I want you to know that I am as frustrated as you are but I can’t comment with certainty because the leadership of the party is saying nothing,” Tufton told the gathering.

He said it was time for the party to make up its mind and show its hand. “The people of West Central St Catherine are asking, and it’s not fair to them, to keep them in the dark. Are they having a selection or not? Is Dr Baugh returning to the seat? Have they now found me unfit, having given me the go-ahead a few mouths ago, to contest the seat?” Tufton asked.

The fuss over the seat, which politician Dr Kenneth Baugh will not be contesting in the next general election, has been ongoing for months.

The rumblings started when deputy general secretary for the JLP’s Area Council Two and MP for South Central St Catherine Dr Andrew Wheatley declared that he was taking a leave of absence from the JLP secretariat, apparently to campaign for Wint.

Wheatley has been harshly criticised for the move. “How does a member of the secretariat who is supposed to preside over a process, specifically within an area council, take a position to support one of the candidates in an internal race. It’s a clear conflict, and it undermines the credibility of the secretariat,” one party insider told the Jamaica Observer at the time.

In July, amidst reports that the delegates’ voters’ list was corrupt, and that people who have never worked for the party were being added to the list, the JLP announced that its selection committee had decided to suspend activities related to the selection process for a new candidate.

The party said the decision was taken in order to “preserve the cohesiveness and good order of the constituency”, and promised that it would meet with workers and stakeholders to iron out the issues.

Supporters of Wint, who is popular in the constituency, have said Tufton stands no chance of succeeding in his bid, but others feel the former Cabinet minister’s campaign strategy in the constituency may very well have gained him some support.