THE executive committee of the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) will be recommending to its National Executive Council (NEC) this weekend that a selection conference be convened on Sunday, July 30 to select a candidate for the St Andrew South Western seat, which was recently vacated by former Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller.

Former Mayor of Kingston Angela Brown Burke, councillor of the Norman Gardens Division in Kingston East, will be going up against councillors Audrey Smith Facey and Karl Blake from St Andrew South Western for what is considered the safest PNP seat in the island.

“[The executive committee decided to recommend that] the nomination procedures and selection process be established and supervised by the party’s secretariat, with the general secretary being mandated to ensure a fair and transparent selection process,” a statement from the PNP said last night.

“This is in keeping with Rule 88 of the constitution of the People’s National Party, which gives the NEC the authority to determine the procedures governing the selection of candidates,” it added.

Smith Facey, councillor for the Payne Land Divison in the constituency, had complained Wednesday that she had met the June 23 deadline for submission of her application to contest the seat and was expecting the party to formally announce her as the candidate. However, things changed Monday after the Jamaica Observer first reported that Simpson Miller had endorsed Brown Burke as her choice to replace her in the constituency. It also emerged later that a constituency poll had former MP Damion Crawford as the top choice, with Smith Facey in second. Brown Burke was at the bottom of the list.

The PNP’s statement last night said Simpson Miller’s endorsement of Brown Burke and a July 17 letter from the constituency secretary, also endorsing the former mayor, were among matters taken into consideration that led to its decision to have a selection conference.

“The executive committee believes that this approach is in keeping with the principles which underpin the constitution of the PNP. The eligible Comrades in this recognised constituency will choose their standard-bearer by way of a democratic process,” it said.

Brown Burke, said the statement, agreed to recuse herself from the meeting of the executive committee and was therefore not a party to the deliberations or decision taken.