Dear Editor,

Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. T

hat’s the current situation the People’s National Party (PNP) finds itself in. If it had contested the Clarendon South Eastern by-election it would have likely lost; further demoralising the party just before a general election.

If a candidate can be in a seat for nearly six years and someone is brought in for a month and is victorious, something is wrong. The PNP made the right decision in not contesting it for the sake of their embattled leader and party.

The Jamaica Labour Party at its worst in 2011 still managed to hold on to that seat. Clearly, the PNP will write off that seat in the general election.

Since Pearnel Charles Jr is a minister in a JLP fortress he just needs three months to put some runs on the board.

So, since we are going to have a race between an Independent, Derrick Lambert, a former PNP candidate for the seat, the JLP will have to take him seriously by motivating its voters to come out and vote in large numbers.

Only five times in our history of by-elections have candidates got over 8,000 votes. These candidates are Ann- Marie Vaz, Damion Crawford, Dwayne Vaz, Bruce Golding, and Norman Dunn, with 9,989, 9,670, 8,738, 8,503, and 8,169 votes, respectively.

If Pearnel Charles Jr can get over 8,000 votes against Derrick Lambert that will still demoralise the PNP’s confidence in winning that seat in a general election.

To top it off, if Pearnel Charles Jr can break the record for the largest number of votes — that’s 9,997 set by Rudyard Spencer in 2016 — the PNP can kiss that seat goodbye.

Portland Eastern is still vacant, so don’t be surprised if the PNP moves Patricia Duncan Sutherland there if the JLP does extremely well in Clarendon South Eastern.

Teddylee GrayOcho Rios, St Annteddylee.gray@gmail.com