THE CANDIDATE A stimulating and revealing ‘fictional’ expose of Jamaica’s party politics, as told from the personal PNP perspective of the brother of Michael Manley. Written, as it can only be, by one who knows intimately the hustlings of tribal politics with all its impact on, and connections to, the various facets of civil society - legal and otherwise - you will be tempted as you read, to believe that you can identify some of the individuals and incidents described in this fictional story of Jamaica’s seamy, grass root political life. Here for the first time at last, is an expose of the internal workings of how one of the leading political parties in Jamaica faces up to the problems of choosing a candidate for the local government elections. There is the pervasive presence of the sitting Member of Parliament and his management of the Party’s structures and procedures. There is the rambunctious, vibrant life of the party workers and how they propose a petition for water which is eventually supported by the community. There is the jostling for position and power by the two men striving to become the party’s candidate. There is also the seamier side of scandals, kick backs on road contracts and ganja smuggling. Jamaican politics, in a village, is a smaller, more intimate version of the national political life between and within the two major political parties. This story is told by one who is steeped in the traditions of Jamaican politics, having been born into it and having lived it. About The Author Douglas Manley, Sociologist, University Lecturer, past Member of Parliament, Senator and Minister of Government, son of Norman and Edna Manley and brother of Michael Manley, breathes life into the pages of this delightful novel, which lays bare the machinations of Jamaica’s party politics.
