Dr Peter Phillips took another step to being anointed president of the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) yesterday when nominations for the post closed at midday without any other candidate declaring an interest.

Phillips will therefore be declared elected by acclamation as the fifth president of the party at a special delegates’ conference scheduled for March 26.

At that point, Phillips will replace Portia Simpson Miller, who has served in the position since March 2006 after she won a run-off against Phillips, Dr Omar Davies, and Dr Karl Blythe to replace then PNP president and Prime Minister PJ Patterson the previous month.

Since then, she survived two challenges to her leadership, the first by Phillips in 2008, and the second by Blythe last September.

All three contests left the PNP deeply divided and the party was obviously relieved when Phillips emerged as sole candidate after Peter Bunting abandoned his campaign to seek the leadership as he realised that he could not have beaten Phillips.

Yesterday, PNP General Secretary Julian Robinson stated in a news release that Simpson Miller will continue as leader of the Opposition until April 2, 2017.

“The party’s secretariat will now proceed to finalise arrangements for the special delegates’ conference where the constitutional process of electing a new president will be completed,” Robinson said.

“I am pleased that the party has, in this exercise, maintained its very strong democratic foundation and principles and as general secretary I would like to thank the officers and the wider membership for their cooperation in making the process to date seamless and incident-free,” he added.