Dr Peter Phillips wouldn’t say whether he would be surprised if the Government called a snap general election at this time.

However, he suggested that the ability of his fractured People’s National Party (PNP) to contest any such poll would likely leave people wide-eyed and O-mouthed.

Phillips was responding to the Jamaica Observer’s query about the possibility of Prime Minister Andrew Holness seeking a fresh mandate, given that the Government holds a one-seat majority and that the PNP has been embroiled in bitter infighting since it lost the February 25, 2016 General Election to the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).

“I think that we have to be prepared for any eventuality, and that would include obviously the prospect of local government elections and also the prospect of national elections, which is why it is incumbent on every Comrade to contribute to the resolution of the issues and the restoration of the reputation and integrity of the party, as a matter of urgency,” Phillips, who was the PNP’s campaign director for the February election, told the Observer last week.

Since the defeat, factions inside the PNP have been calling for a renewal of the party leadership, with some members strongly advocating the departure of President Portia Simpson Miller.

Former General Secretary Peter Bunting had initially signalled that he would challenge Simpson Miller, but eventually backed down.

That resulted in former Cabinet member and PNP vice-president Dr Karl Blythe mounting a challenge, saying that his intention was to serve as president for only a year, during which time he would lead the renewal process in keeping with calls from inside and outside the PNP after the election loss.

“My mission is to be interim president while we create the atmosphere within the party to bring about that much-needed renewal, whereby Comrades can once more feel free to express themselves in any forum of the party and be heard, respected, and not be subjected to any form of abuse,” Blythe wrote in a letter to Comrades in July.

“I want, and I am sure all well-thinking Comrades also want our party to return to true democracy as guaranteed by our constitution and founding fathers,” he added.

In an earlier interview with the Observer, Blythe said: “I truly believe that my party needs to start the renewal process, and I believe that this renewal process would have started if other persons had entered the race.”

Blythe’s decision to contest the presidency at this month’s annual conference has sparked anger among Simpson Miller’s supporters. In addition, the Opposition party is now reeling from damaging allegations that some candidates in the last election collected money donated for the campaign but did not remit it to the treasury.

The campaign funding scandal, as it has been dubbed, is now the subject of an investigation by the Office of the Contractor General after allegations that large Chinese firms working on projects here pay an ‘agent’s fee’ which is allegedly collected by an individual named by the minister with portfolio responsibility.

Former Transport and Works Minister Dr Omar Davies took General Secretary Paul Burke to task for making the allegation at a recent national executive council meeting, saying that it gave people the impression that he (Davies) was the minister who had recommended the agent to a Chinese firm that was working on a large project.

Davies denied the allegation, accused Burke of making “reckless and unacceptable” charges, and demanded that the general secretary provide evidence to support his statement.

Last week, when the Observer asked Phillips if the PNP was in a position to contest a general election he said, “I think people would be surprised”.

“There are lots of Comrades who will come out,” he said. “There is still a great realisation that a lot of the proclamations of the JLP during the election campaign have not been fulfilled and were in fact untenable in the way that they were presented, and there is a great sense of upset surrounding much of that, but that does not gainsay that we need to do our own thing. and there are hundreds of thousands of Comrades out there who recognise that even in the middle of our need to engage in a process of rebuilding and restoration of our values, that will get done.”