In 1969 when his father, Norman Washington Manley passed away, Michael took over his position as leader of the PNP. Norman Manley was the original founder of the PNP, chief minister of Jamaica from 1955-1959, and prime minister from 1959-1962. With the 1972 election quickly approaching, the PNP began campaigning for Manley. It was at this time that they set two primary goals: 1. Not to rock class coalition 2. To gain support of the traditional Christian community and the Rastafarian community. One Jamaican historian said, The reality of the Rasta’s cannot be ignored by the politicians: their voice is the voice of the people and the success or failure of Jamaican leaders henceforth must grapple with the power of these modern day John the Baptists whose voices call out from the electronic wilderness. (rg pg 174) With these goals in mind, Manley began to attend rallies, and speak about promised election pledges. These pledges were critical to his campaign because they represented many hopes of the Rastafarians. Among the stated pledges were: 1.legislation requiring parliamentarians to declare their assets publicly annually in order to counter corruption; 2.a fixed formula for the distribution of government jobs to end victimization; 3.permanent voter registration centers and voting rights for 18-20 year olds; 4.Parliament to be restored as the center of government activity; 5.no electioneering and government by promises. The PNP would tell the truth.
Posted on: Sat, 29 Nov 2014 13:54:16 +0000
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