Audley Shaw
Women's groups in the opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) have come out in support of Audley Shaw in his bid to lead the party.The Women's Freedom Movement (WFM) and the National Organization for Women (NOW) declared their backing in a release issued on Monday.
In a joint statement the groups said the "JLP is in need of a Leader who not only respects women, but will go the extra mile to ensure that they get the respect they deserve".
The groups say Shaw should be given the opportunity to lead the party and added that in order to be an effective opposition, the JLP must rebuild and connect with grassroots people, challenge the ruling Peoples National Party (PNP) and clear a path to electoral success.
And, Shaw says the JLP should carefully consider the findings of the study into the Party's defeat in the 2011 General Elections.
The report containing the results of the study cited 25 reasons the JLP lost the election.
They include disunity in the party, a weak party machinery, faulty candidate selection as well as a neglected and disillusioned party base.
Shaw in an address to supporters at the Montego Bay High School in western Jamaica on Sunday said based on the findings there is much work ahead for the Party as it prepares for the next General Election.
"The question have to ask is "are we ready for an election" … in this report that we have seen in the newspaper, if we had seen that report from January or February can you imagine the amount of work we would have done in relation to that report and can you imagine how closer we would be today towards readiness as an alternative government in waiting," Shaw said.
All feeds
