MARK Golding has been described as undoubtedly the man for the job as People’s National Party (PNP) president, and who will be a uniting force for the fractured Opposition which suffered a 14-49 loss to the Jamaica Labour Party in the September 3 General Election.

Speaking at this week’s Jamaica Observer Monday Exchange, Dr Angela Brown Burke, Member of Parliament (MP) for St Andrew South Western and a key member of Golding’s campaign team, said: “I believe in the principles of the party and I am supporting Mark because he also believes in the principles on which the party is founded — social justice, equity and inclusiveness.”

Brown Burke pointed out that, despite both Hanna and Manchester Central MP Peter Bunting campaigning against her in the run-off for St Andrew South Western seat when MP Portia Simpson Miller retired, she backed Bunting when he went up against Dr Peter Phillips for party leadership.

“…I believe it’s not about me anymore; it’s about a whole host of individuals out there that are looking to the PNP to be their champion and their advocate,” she said.

“I’m supporting Mark Golding because I see Mark as an individual whose own performance and interactions in his constituency and in the party [has shown he] is a concensus builder, and I think that the party needs someone who understands what that means. I see him as a humble, yet respectful leader, a transformative leader, and that is what I believe the PNP needs at this time if we are to assure that we can capture the imagination of 60-odd per cent of individuals who didn’t come out to vote,” Brown Burke said.

Meanwhile, Patricia Sutherland, who lost to the JLP’s Pearnel Charles Jr in the race for the Clarendon South Eastern constituency, said: “I am here supporting Mark Golding because after the [election] loss, and after Peter Phillips decided to step down, I scanned for myself in the party for who I would want to lead, and I chose Mark even before he chose himself.”

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