By
Simpson Miller
Jamaica Gleanner
Kingston
Petroleumworld.com
02 26 06
PORTIA
SIMPSON Miller yesterday emerged as the next president of the
People's National Party (PNP) and, within weeks, will be crowned
the first woman Prime Minister of Jamaica.
Mrs.
Simpson Miller polled 1,775 delegate votes in what turned out
to be a two-man race between herself and Dr. Peter Phillips
who garnered 1,538.
Dr.
Omar Davies ran a distant third with 283 votes and Dr. Karl
Blythe polled 204. Of 3,808 votes, eight were rejected.
The
announcement was greeted with ear-splitting cheers from the
crowd gathered at the PNP's Old Hope Road headquarters in St.
Andrew. Almost as soon as outgoing Prime Minister P.J. Patterson
revealed the winner, the announcement was made over the public
address system at the nearby National Stadium where thousands
of spectators attending the Gibson Relays erupted in equally
deafening applause. She later visited the games to tumultuous
applause and did a 'victory lap'.
TIME
TO REUNITE
In
accepting the will of the nearly 4,000 PNP delegates, Mrs. Simpson
Miller said it was time for the party to reunite after an admittedly
bitter campaign.
"Now
it's time for unity and if there are wounds to be healed, it's
time for healing," she told the crowd at PNP headquarters
after being greeted to the stage with Shaggy's Strength of a
Woman.
But
yesterday, it appeared that only candidates Dr. Davies and Dr.
Blythe would join Mrs. Simpson Miller in showing that sign of
unity. Dr. Phillips, whose campaign had been the chief source
of tension for Mrs. Simpson Miller's team, was not initially
called and did not come to the stage. However, Dr. Phillips
eventually joined the new party president-designate and congratulated
her on winning.
Foreign
Affairs Minister K.D. Knight, who has had a seemingly bitter
public relationship with Mrs. Simpson Miller, said: "The
delegates have spoken and in the true democratic tradition we
have to accept what they have said."
Mr.
Patterson told the crowd that the Cabinet and all Government
MPs had agreed to accept the will of the delegates and select
the new party president to be the nation's seventh Prime Minister.
Candidate
votes
Portia
Simpson Miller 1,775
Peter
Phillips 1,538
Omar
Davies 283
Karl
Blythe 204
3,808
votes (8 rejected)
