Two Former PNP Members Switch Allegiance to JLP

Two former members of the opposition People’s National Party, PNP, in Hanover have switched to the governing Jamaica Labour Party, JLP.

They are former member of parliament aspirant for Eastern Hanover, Craig Oates, and the man who previously harboured hopes of representing the PNP in the Cauldwell division of the Hanover Municipal Corporation, Kenroy Calame.

Daina Davy has that story.

Craig Oates has been a fixture on the JLP campaign circuit in western Jamaica in recent months.

It was an open secret that this former Comrade, seen dancing in a viral social media video alongside PNP President Mark Golding in 2024, had moved on from the opposition party.

On Sunday, Oates told the crowd at a meeting of JLP workers at Bethel Primary and Junior High School in Eastern Hanover that he had applied to become an official member of the Labour party.

Oates, a former policeman, told Nationwide News that he left the PNP because forces in the party tried to undermine him.

Oates says claims of corruption inside the Hanover Municipal Corporation also spurred his decision to ditch the PNP.

He says if Mark Golding was indeed serious about fighting corruption, he would call for a probe into the dealings at the corporation.

Oates says no one can accuse him of betrayal, noting that former PNP stalwarts like the late Dr. DK Duncan, have also had cause to walk out on the PNP.

Dr. Duncan left the PNP to join the Bruce Golding led National Democratic Movement.

Oates says many people have switched parties over the years, noting that people shouldn’t be afraid to seek the right vehicle for their ambitions.

Meanwhile, Kenroy Calame says after observing how the JLP does their politics, it was an easy decision to leave the PNP behind.