People’s National Party (PNP) caretaker candidate for Clarendon South Eastern Patricia Duncan Sutherland yesterday fired the first salvo in the emerging campaign for the seat, calling the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) executive in that constituency “confused”.

Duncan Sutherland’s comment follows a Jamaica Observer report that sitting Member of Parliament Rudyard Spencer is expected to bow out of the political arena this week, leaving Senator Pearnel Charles Jr to fight to retain the JLP’s hold on the constituency.

“I don’t know what they are doing down there. There’s clearly confusion in the JLP,” Duncan Sutherland said when contacted.

The Observer had reported that voters in Clarendon South Eastern could go to the polls before the end of this month in a by-election to replace Spencer, who has been persuaded to quit.

That persuasion reportedly came about to temper a quiet storm that had been brewing between Charles Jr and colleague Robert Morgan over who should represent the JLP in the Clarendon North Central constituency, currently represented by the former’s father, Pearnel Charles Snr, in Parliament.

While an official announcement has not been made as to whether or not a by-election will be held, as talks of a general election this year increase, Duncan Sutherland said the Opposition party has remained in a state of readiness for all eventualities.

“What I can tell you is that the PNP, as we have said during our tour, we are strong and ready for a general election and I am strong and ready for a general election,” she told the Observer.

Duncan Sutherland, daughter of veteran politician D K Duncan, lost the Clarendon South Eastern seat by 958 votes in the February 2016 General Election.

At that time, some 39,210 people were eligible to vote. That figure increased to 42,516 according to the May 31, 2019 voters’ list, but dipped to 41,308 following the publication of the November 30, 2019 voters’ list.

The Electoral Office of Jamaica said some 71,529 dead electors were removed from the voters’ list.

The PNP standard-bearer said with the impending departure of Spencer her chances to register the seat under the PNP column — which would be the first time since Basil Burrell in the 1997 General Election — have significantly increased.

“It means there is an unknown quantity being introduced into the constituency and I’ve been there for a while. So that is a positive for me. Clearly, as per the news, there’s confusion in their camp. Some want him, some don’t want him, so that will always work in favour of the other party, but I’m not really banking on their confusion. I’m banking on my work,” she stated.

At the same time, Duncan Sutherland said she strongly believes that she has closed the gap by which she lost in 2016, especially with the strategy she has employed and projects covered across the constituency.

“Since that time, I’ve been working with the Moneymusk sugar workers. My thing has been advocacy and facilitating people to get access to what they need to get.

So for the Moneymusk sugar workers a promise was made to them, still not delivered, but we are still pressuring the Government because you have to be persistent in these situations,” said the PNP caretaker.

Additionally, she said along with the party’s executive in the constituency, she has been working “on advocacy” for water for communities, several of which, including Salt River, she said have been without supply.

She said that has been a project that has been on the books for “quite a while” but has been stalled. She said money for the project has now been approved and spending will start shortly.

“In terms of working on a constituency development plan, I’ve met with teachers in the constituency across all of the primary schools to talk about how is it that we’re going to move our schools to be in the top 50 in the country.

“I’ve also hosted an economic workshop with business people within the community, both at the more affluent levels and small businesses, to work out how we’re going to get South East Clarendon to move from a consumption of 250,000 per person to more like a consumption of 500,000 per person and the big push we have is agriculture. We have the land; how are we going to repurpose our land from cane, as it was predominantly, to other forms of agriculture to tie into the tourism linkages programme and to look at of course some export,” she shared.