Originally posted by Tman: For all you know-it-alls, this does not mean she AUTOMATICALLY becomes prime minister. She was ONLY elected president of the PNP. It is up to the MPs to advise the GG that she comands the confidence of the majority of the elected members of the House, then if the GG agrees, he appoints that person as the PM. The MPs can still tell the GG she does not, and select someone else. It has never been done before in Ja, but that is the letter of the law, as I understand it. It nuh dun yet!!!
sallam
Tman, technically you are right, but since PJ dun put dun his foot on how this succession is going to occur and even had them sign off pon it, plus the fact that you have a new GG who I don't think would want to start his tenure in such a dramatic fashion, I feel it's safe to say that, barring any unforseen extraordinary occurrence, Portia would indeed be the next PM.
One issue not to be immediately brushed aside, IMO, is all the duttiness that took place in the lead-up to an eventual winner being named. Nuff bitterness still deh deh to clean up.
My question is: now that the stars have aligned to bring a result that has for so long seemed inevitable ... under whose hat will the ruling party hide some of the real deficiencies in its governance?
Originally posted by Tman: For all you know-it-alls, this does not mean she AUTOMATICALLY becomes prime minister. She was ONLY elected president of the PNP. It is up to the MPs to advise the GG that she comands the confidence of the majority of the elected members of the House, then if the GG agrees, he appoints that person as the PM. The MPs can still tell the GG she does not, and select someone else. It has never been done before in Ja, but that is the letter of the law, as I understand it. It nuh dun yet!!!
sallam
MPs say yes to Portia Vote unanimously to name her PM LLOYD WILLIAMS, Observer writer Wednesday, March 01, 2006
SIMPSON MILLER. will become first woman prime minister of Jamaica
ALL 34 MPs of the ruling People's National Party (PNP) yesterday stuck to tradition and endorsed Portia Simpson Miller for the office of prime minister when incumbent P J Patterson resigns in approximately one month's time.
The vote by the MPs at a meeting held at Jamaica House immediately put to rest concerns that some MPs may not support Simpson Miller as head of government despite her victory in Saturday's contest for the presidency of the PNP, beating off the challenge of fellow ministers Peter Phillips and Omar Davies, and backbencher Karl Blythe.
Phillips had the support of most of the MPs, but the just under 4,000 PNP delegates gave the nod in Saturday's vote to Simpson Miller, the popular local government minister.
Jamaica House, in a statement after the meeting, said government MPs voted "unanimously and by acclamation" to name Simpson Miller as the person who commands their support for prime minister.
Prime Minister Patterson told Parliament later in the afternoon that all 34 government Members of Parliament had endorsed Simspon Miller as their choice to be the new prime minister of Jamaica.
In an unprecedented announcement, Patterson, when it was time for "Statement by Ministers", made what he described as "a distinctly historic statement".
"For the very first time," he said, "a prime minister is announcing in the chambers of this honourable House, the advice which will be given to the governor-general by the incumbent when I tender my resignation as prime minister. And the governor-general is required to act in accordance with the provisions of Section 70, sub-section 1 of the Constitution of Jamaica.
"As everyone is aware, delegates of the People's National Party voted last Saturday to designate which of four contenders should succeed me as president and leader of the People's National Party. This was done in a peaceful and orderly fashion.
"I convened today (Tuesday), a meeting at Jamaica House of all the Members of Parliament who sit on this side of the House. Everyone, including you Mr Speaker, was in attendance. Unanimously and by acclaim, they have authorised me to advise the governor-general that when he comes to make an appointment of my successor, the best person able to command the confidence of a majority of the members of this House is the Member of Parliament for South West St Andrew and the Minister of Local Government, Community Development and Sport, the Hon Portia Lucretia Simpson Miller."
Both sides of the House applauded hard and long at the announcement.
Patterson then concluded: "I hereby notify the House that I will be pleased in due course to advise accordingly." Bruce Golding, the leader of the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party, lost no time in congratulating Simpson Miller, even after having done so publicly on the weekend and again, personally, in writing. He extended to the prime minister-designate, on behalf of the Opposition, "congratulations and our best wishes".
Simpson Miller, dressed in beige business suit and cream blouse, arrived in the House quietly, as usual, about 12 minutes before the sitting started. She rose on being called on by the speaker and acknowledged, as graciously as she was brief, the endorsement of her colleagues and the congratulations of the Opposition.
"Mr Speaker, I rise to thank the prime minister and members of this honourable House, on both sides, for your support. I would like to thank the members of this side of the House for their confidence and support and to say to both sides of the House I look forward to working with all of you for the betterment of the quality of life of all our people. Thank you very much."
Before the speeches she talked from her seat with Davies, the minister of finance and planning, and Phillips, minister of national security, and other colleagues seated near to her. There was only a handful of visitors in the gallery save for 24 students and lecturers from the University of Technology in Kingston.
Simpson Miller wrote her name in the history books on Saturday by becoming the first woman to be president of the ruling People's National Party.
Usually, the political party which has the majority in Parliament selects its leader to be prime minister and informs the governor-general privately about its decision. So Patterson's statement yesterday was as unusual as it was historic and apparently designed to quash any rumour of a revolt against Simpson Miller.
Patterson said on Saturday that he would remain in office for another four to five weeks to see to a smooth transition to his successor.
The PNP has formed the government continuously since 1989 and, were Simpson Miller and her team to win the next general election, due at the end of 2007, the party would be in government for an unprecedented five terms.
In truth, the following article rightfully should be posted on the thread 'Election Saturday' mostly because there is content stimulated there that I am addressing.
However, since that thread has moved on to the discussion of democracy and less about the recent internal party election, I'll share the article here on the related thread..
Quote:
PEOPLE & THINGS: Woman is boss! Published on: 3/1/06.
BY PETER WICKHAM
THE FINAL RESULT in the People's National Party (PNP's) leadership race is a major achievement for women in the Caribbean who are still struggling to make a serious political impact, as well as for "grassroots" politicians who are often forced to give way to the intellectual bias present in all Caribbean political parties.
As a result of Prime Minister P. J. Patterson's mature decision to retire from office and hand leadership of Jamaica over to his party's chosen successor, Portia Simpson will become the country's first woman Prime Minister and the first woman to lead any of the MDCs (more developed countries) in the Caribbean.*
Those of us familiar with the manner in which political parties do business, appreciate the enormous difficulty that persons like Simpson face as they seek to climb the steep political ladder. In order to become the leader of the PNP, she needed to secure the support of the delegates to the PNP's annual conference which would have been her first major hurdle.
This delegate system is one of the antiquated vestiges of the British party system which, ironically, the British Labour Party has moved away from.
Elections in the PNP, and indeed in both the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) and Barbados Labour Party (BLP) in Barbados, are not direct, but based on the preference of select delegates who are supposed to reflect the desires of their constituency branches, but in reality often have their own agenda.
It is perhaps for this reason that the polls were slightly less useful at predicting the outcome, since these could have revealed the person who was more popular among the mass-based party, or the person that the majority of Jamaicans wanted.
In the "run up" to this election campaign, Jamaica witnessed a national campaign within the PNP of unprecedented proportions. In an effort to win the support of delegates, the candidates mounted campaigns which, from all reports, were well-funded and characteristic of a national competitive election.
This is perhaps a good thing for democracy; however, the triumph of the individual who did not have the best-funded campaign demonstrates the limited utility of conventional advertising mechanisms within the context of an inter-party election.
It is interesting that one poll published by a newspaper during 2005 suggested that Simpson was the only PNP candidate who could lead that party to an unprecedented fifth consecutive victory and one assumes that delegates naturally expect this to be the major benefit of their selection.However, elections are never straightforward battles or foregone conclusions and there is much work to be done by Simpson before the next election in Jamaica.
On the face of it, she should easily beat her male opponent since women voters in Jamaica are in the majority, as is the case in every other Caribbean island.
This apparent advantage is, however, one of the major ironies of Caribbean politics that is reminiscent of the level of hypocrisy associated with Caribbean views on morality. The reality of more women in the electorate, therefore, does not naturally translate to more women being elected, or women winning more easily, since the data do not demonstrate any such correlations.
Instead, women appear to be treated worse by women than their male counterparts, suggesting that there is a gap between what women will say they want politically and what women really prefer based on their voting behaviour. We therefore marvel at the fact that outstanding female politicians can at best be expected to have a limited impact, while the politics of our region is littered with mediocre male leaders who for some strange reason have been maintained in power by a system of male-dominated power structures.
This political phenomenon is easily explained by our social, cultural and religious background which seems to see men as natural leaders and this is clearly a preference that many Caribbean women have also bought into. Hence, many of the successful female Caribbean politicians have been forced to adopt many of the political characteristics associated with men in order to win national support.
This is most unfortunate since women are an asset to the political system, especially because they are women and not in spite of that fact. Women left on their own would presumably bring traits to the political table that have the capacity to transform our politics and introduce a style that is unique and badly needed in the Caribbean and we should all hope that the elevation of Simpson will open a new chapter in the politics of Jamaica.
*I think Wickham makes too much of this development distinction as between LDCs and MDCs - I don't think it is helpful in the Caribbean context. Perhaps he is using the term loosely, but for sure it is a reflection of a pretentious bias that exists in the Caribbean region when referencing economics and 'development' among the island-states.
Quote:
Common characteristics of LDC's
o Low living standards (ie low real income per capita) associated with high income inequality, poor health and inadequate education and limited life expectancy;
o Low levels of productivity possibly because of limited resources; unskilled labour; weak complementary factors and management practices and backward technology;
o High population growth rate due to falling death rate resulting in significant dependency burdens;
o Large-scale unemployment and underemployment;
o A small industrial sector with outdated technology unable to employ large numbers of poorly educated workers.
o Large but neglected agricultural sector and outward migration from rural to urban areas
o Market imperfections. In many developing economies markets may not exist eg financial market
o Developing countries generally have a colonial past
o Limited technology, infrastructure, and social and political institutions.
o Low social capital and social cohesion
Naturally variation exists, but I don't see the fundamental relevance or support in the context of the great observations he (Wickham) makes otherwise.
For the curious who wish to see where Jamaica lies in the scheme of things:
The real fact is the Caribbean has had other women lead. Eugenia Charles(Dominica PM 1980-1995) and Janet Jagan (President of Guyana 1995-1997) come to mind.
As well, in the last century or so there have only been about 25-30 women elected to lead either their government or state. So factor the disproportionality of the Caribbean's contribution given the region's tiny size and register on global matters.
As well, women preside ( as in speakers etc.) over about 10 per cent of all the parliaments in the world - and of these parliaments headed by women fully a third (33 per cent) are found in the Caribbean.
Anyhow, the original point is that to 'believe' that intra-party elections are no different from a national election is to be blind.
I don't think anyone have an argument or tried to make one on whether national or intra-party elections are different.
I don't know about Mr. Wickham, but if someone makes an observation that they assign to a particular group and that same observation holds when it is applied throughout the rest of the world, is it really an observation worth making and assigning to a particular group?
Don't women throughout the world vote overwhelmingly for male leaders?
Well PP, the point is that in the Caribbean women have [i]actually[i] attained greater degrees of political participation and representation than many, many of their counterparts elsewhere. The numbers bear that out, and can't and ought not be attempted to be ignored.
i agree, there's no denying that men comprise a larger segment of the leadership everywhere.
However, don't ignore the fact that access to the ballot and even basic political participation (not even representation) is a challenge for many, many women across the planet. And I mean participation in any form.
The fact that men make up the bulk of the leadership should not deter discussion of the role of women in politics.
It speaks volumes for the Caribbean to be at the forefront of an enlightened view - and Portia's elevation underscores the reality that gender never entered the public debate about opposition to her.
It's one factor that contributes to the appeal of Caribbean women. All I'm saying is that Portia's triumph, while historic, is by no means full of the exceptionalism celebrated by the world in terms of a Helen Johnson-Sirleaf in Africa or the political inheritance of a Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan.
Our traditions are different.
The relatively limited ascendancy of women in Jamaican or Caribbean politics has not been rooted in systems designed to keep women from being elected, but rather in the (success or failure of ...) the process of women demonstrating to men and women of the electorate alike that they are suitable leaders.
In the brief history of an independent Jamaica, of an independent Caribbean the trajectory of women offering themselves up for public office (not to mention appointments to Upper Houses) has been solid.
It was Shirley Chisholm, the daughter of Bajans who sought the US presidency decades ago; and that since Geraldine Ferraro there has been no seriously touted female candidate on the presidential ticket - a span of 2 decades ... says something about where the US public is on the matter.
Should Hilary Clinton win the nomination America will still be engaged in gender politics that have long been settled in the context of Caribbean political reality.
All Wickham is pointing to is a nuance of that reality.
And mind you, this 'liberal view' we have in the Caribbean electorate spans the linguistic Caribbean: Sila Calderon (Puerto Rico - who was also a former mayor of San Juan) and maria Liberia-Peters fmr. Prime Minister of the Neth Antilles (twice at that).
[QUOTE]Originally posted by JahPickney: [B]Well PP, the point is that in the Caribbean women have [i]actually[i] attained greater degrees of political participation and representation than many, many of their counterparts elsewhere. The numbers bear that out, and can't and ought not be attempted to be ignored.
i agree, there's no denying that men comprise a larger segment of the leadership everywhere. --------------------------------------------
JahP why you don't allow yourself to see eye to eye with me? I am not ignoring or denying your numbers regarding Caribbean women participation in politics, as a matter of fact I wasn't even referring to that in my post.
My post refer to what you describe as Mr. Wickham pointing to the nuance of that reality. Excuse me if I am wrong but I read his comments to be that although women represents the largest voting pool in the Caribbean, women candidates have a hard time getting elected to political office due to social, cultural & religious ethos in Caribbean societies.
My point is that if you take Caribbean out of the equation and add any other culture in its stead the difficulties women have getting elected to leadership positions would still be the same, so this phenomena where women more easily select men as leaders over fellow women is not unique to the Caribbean. It's more of a world phenomena.
That's the only point I was referring to in my post.
I think you need to read Mr. Wickham's article again. You used his article to bolster a narrow distinction you made between intra-party elections and national elections, which wasn't needed since no one was challenging your view.
Besides that one point Mr. Wickham's article I noticed that the article contradicts just about all the other points you are making.
You are giving kudos to the successfull women politicians as a reflection of the "liberal point of view" of the Caribbean electorate while he is lamenting that there isn't more Caribbean women leaders because of a "lack of a liberal point of view" of the Caribbean electorate, specifically the women.
Man you confuse me. How can you post an article to bolster your argument when that very article contradicts your argument?
Must give it to you though, Caribbean women, like all women, are to be supported and celebrated for their achievements and drive.
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My own mother who is the same age as Portia did not think Jamaica would have a female prime minister in her lifetime, although women carry more voters. Also, I asked my uncle in 2002, if Jamaica was ready for a female prime minister, he said no.
jamatl, i have heard that sentiment expressed elsewhere as well - even by those younger than your uncle ... sometimes we want things to happen but because of the perceived prevailing social climate we don't expect them to happen ... hoping against hope.
That's why when an event like this happens and the barriers are broken, a world of new possibilities and realitties let loose.
Fortunately today a generation of young Jamaican girls and women can set their targets on a new sight.
My post refer to what you describe as Mr. Wickham pointing to the nuance of that reality. Excuse me if I am wrong but I read his comments to be that although women represents the largest voting pool in the Caribbean, women candidates have a hard time getting elected to political office due to social, cultural & religious ethos in Caribbean societies.
My point is that if you take Caribbean out of the equation and add any other culture in its stead the difficulties women have getting elected to leadership positions would still be the same, so this phenomena where women more easily select men as leaders over fellow women is not unique to the Caribbean. It's more of a world phenomena.
Regarding the part highlighted in bold in the first paragraph above ... I believe you're superimposing a view that maybe reads too much into Wickham's comments.
A political scientist will tell you that he is more likely referring to the matrix of preferences and factors considered by voters in general (and female ones in particular) as they consider all candidates before them.
Religious ethos in the Caribbean as an agent of disenfranchising female representatives or potential ones? Are you kidding me?
Social and cultural ethos may be a more influential agent, but I think Wickham suggests that it is women's perception of other women rather than the macro-environment per se that is the influential factor.
In any event, there are glaring examples of women 'manhandling' (for the want of a better term) men at the polls in dismissing their opponents' challenge - examples devoid of relevant social, cultural and certainly religious components.
HOWEVER, since you seem bent on forcing my hand in agreement on something, I'll agree to this: women candidates have their challenges across the globe.
But, to a large extent I think you're stating the obvious and mixing it with assumptions of what the underlying causes of the obvious may be, and I didn't find that helpful. current situation globally.
You have the reality, the cause and the effects. Careful not to brush them all with the same broo or dab them with the same paint.
OUR CARIBBEAN: The politics of Portia and Sarah Published on: 3/3/06.
by RICKEY SINGH
UNREHEARSED, two female politicians of our Caribbean Community, one a Jamaican, the other St Lucian, are providing some sharp contrasts in fun and serious politics.
Today, as the Jamaican Portia Simpson-Miller, veteran politician and newly-elected leader of the ruling People's National Party (PNP) prepares to take the oath as Prime Minister, the comparatively inexperienced Sarah Flood-Beaubrun of St Lucia will be seeking nomination for a by-election of her own creation.
The fun is located in the politics being played out by the 37-year-old St Lucian, a lawyer by profession, deemed "a firebrand" when she made her political debut in 1997 as a candidate for the St Lucia Labour Party (SLP), which she served as Minister of Health and Home Affairs.
She is to be nominated today for the Central Castries constituency that she had represented in parliament until January 4 this year when she resigned as an "Independent" (sic) to force a by-election that Prime Minister Kenny Anthony has announced for March 13.
Having twice won the Castries Central seat – once a formidable stronghold of the current opposition United Workers Party (UWP) – Beaubrun was to engage in the strange politics of a 'newcomer' in a 51-year-old Labour Party, by openly attacking, in December 2004, cabinet colleagues in parliament as "child killers" over an amendment to the country's criminal code relating to termination of pregnancy.
She did not think then that she had a moral obligation to resign and kept showing up for cabinet meetings. Within a month she was dismissed from cabinet by Prime Minister Anthony. She then crossed the floor to the Opposition benches to sit as an "Independent" for a year until January 2006.
During that period she formed what came to be known as 'ONE' – acronymn for an Organisation for National Empowerment – yet to be formally launched. { I sense it really means she deh pon har own ...}
The caricature of a "fun politician" reached a new level earlier this week when, after Prime Minister Anthony congratulated Simpson-Miller on her victory as a "tribute to the women of Jamaica", Beaubrun despatched her own greetings by stating her bold expectation to meet her after St Lucia's general election later this year as the country's "next Prime Minister".
Simpson-Miller would be amused. After all, she, more than Beaubrun, understands the beast that's politics.
Whatever minimal contact, if any, Flood-Beaubrun may have had with her, Simpson-Miller, the dynamic, most popular female politician of Jamaica, brings to her new position as Prime Minister-designate, some 34 years in PNP politics, well anchored to compete against three male colleagues, to succeed the retiring Percival Patterson as party leader and Prime Minister.
The serious challenges she faces in a country with very daunting socio-economic problems, would include her own capacity to navigate a safe passage in leadership, both at the level of party and government, in taking over from Patterson, whom she had unsuccessfully competed against in 1992.
Last Monday she was welcomed by a kiss from Patterson to her first cabinet meeting as Prime Minister-designate. More later on Portia's challenges.
I am not ignoring or denying your numbers regarding Caribbean women participation in politics, as a matter of fact I wasn't even referring to that in my post.
I'll agree to this: women candidates have their challenges across the globe.
