General Secretary of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), Dr Horace Chang, has announced that the party "intends to respect" the decision of party workers in Southern Manchester to replace incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) Robert Chin as the candidate in the coming General Elections.
The decision was made by party workers in a selection exercise in the constituency on Sunday, according to a statement from the JLP.
Businessman lan Ives secured 54 per cent of the votes, while Chin received 35 per cent. Another contender, Adion Peart, received 10 per cent of the votes.
In a release, Chang said all the party workers in the constituency had the opportunity to participate in the vote, which followed a series of internal consultations there.
Chang further said a recommendation will be made relative to the developments in the constituency to the party's central executive.
Chin shocked the political landscape when he claimed victory in the 2020 elections by winning the seat that was long considered to be a People’s National Party (PNP) bastion.
He tallied 6,826 votes to defeat the PNP's then incumbent MP, Michael Stewart, who received 5,936 votes.
However, Chin has been largely criticised by the constituents for his purported lack of representation there.
Senator Peter Bunting is to represent the parliamentary Opposition in the seat when the national polls are called later this year.
