MOUNT SALEM, St James — Campaign manager for Peter Bunting’s ‘Rise United’ team, Dr Dayton Campbell, is urging supporters of the People’s National Party (PNP) “not to sacrifice the party for one man’s ambition”.

Bunting, the Manchester Central Member of Parliament, is challenging Dr Peter Phillips for the leadership of the party. Delegates will decide who should be at the head of the 81-year-old party on September 7 at a special delegates’ conference in Kingston.

Dr Campbell, who was addressing a St James Central constituency conference at Mount Salem Primary and Junior High School on Sunday, told the gathering that the party has had a history in which numerous past presidents have retired at the age of 70.

Dr Phillips, who unsuccessfully challenged Portia Simpson Miller for president of the party in 2006 and 2008, will turn 70 on December 28.

He was elected president of the party in 2017, succeeding Simpson Miller, following the February 2016 General Election, which the PNP lost to the Andrew Holness-led Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).

“When you look at the state of the country, when you are going to decide on a leader of a party and possibly the leader of a country, [is] a big decision that. The PNP has a tradition. Norman Manley left the PNP when he was 70. Michael Manley, as prime minister, left the PNP when he was 70. PJ Patterson, as prime minister, left the PNP when he was 70. Portia Simpson Miller left the party when she was 70. This year, Dr Phillips a 70,” disclosed Dr Campbell.

“I don’t understand what really is going on, because the convention inna the party is that the leader of the movement should step aside and make way for a new leader to come forward. We cannot sacrifice the party for one man’s ambition,” he said

Dr Campbell continued: “You understand how hard it is when you are Opposition? You see me, I rather sit down on the back bench of the government than to sit down on the front bench of the opposition. I rather come out of the PNP and the PNP win, than stay in it and it loses. I want the PNP in power.”

The campaign manager argued that while Dr Phillips, who currently has an unfavourable rating, was a good government minister in the past, he is not the man to take the party out of opposition.

“We want a leader that can take the party out of opposition. So now, to come and look at the PNP and say that the man is at 12 per cent, but we must let him stay, is not acceptable. They are being hypocritical because even when [former Prime Minister] Bruce [Golding] had to resign from the [Jamaica] Labour Party…his rating never go down at 12 per cent,” Dr Campbell stressed.

“All yuh phone, when it reaches 15 per cent you see something start going on it and tell you say you have to go and plug in a charger because it needs life. At 15 per cent, your phone done tell you already and give warning say, ‘Look here, this something soon lock off’, and them deh at 12 [per cent] and make it sound like something nuh wrong with we,” Dr Campbell continued.

The campaign manager, who made it clear that he doesn’t have anything against Dr Phillips, stressed that it is difficult for the current party leader to take the party out of Opposition because he is not liked.