KINGSTON – Prime Minister Bruce Golding announced yesterday that he was stepping down as political leader of the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) but by afternoon, party chairman Mike Henry had himself declared that the JLP central executive had unanimously voted to reject Golding’s decision.
Golding had also said he would hand over the reins of prime minister to the party’s choice of successor, according to a statement released by Minister of Information Daryl Vaz.
Golding, the country’s eighth prime minister since Independence in 1962, announced his resignation as leader of the JLP to the party’s central executive at its quarterly meeting at party headquarters. He said he had planned to lead the party into a second term of government and leave office within two years thereafter.
“The challenges of the last four years have taken their toll and it was appropriate now to make way for new leadership to continue the programmes of economic recovery and transformation while mobilizing the party for victory in the next general election,” the prime minister said in the release. (CMC)
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