Abe Dabdoub: House-to-house walk signals a win

Published in the Jamaica Gleaner: Thursday | August 30, 2007

Abe Dabdoub is no stranger to the political landscape. He has been active in politics since the 1970s. He was president of the JLP youth arm, Young Jamaica, from 1973 to 1975. He entered representational politics when he was elected Councillor for the Vineyard Town Division of the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC), in the Local Government Elections of 1981. He was also a JLP Senator from 1980 to 1983.

He was expected to contest the vice-presidency for the JLP's Area Council Three in December 1998, but, after the voting was postponed to January 1999, when the competition threatened to turn ugly, Mr. Dabdoub withdrew a week before the election claiming that he was being "vilified and denigrated" and wrongly accused of trying to overthrow the then JLP leader, Edward Seaga.

He was also the JLP' member on the then Electoral Advisory Committee for several years.

He lost the North East St. Catherine constituency in 1997 to Phyllis Mitchell of the PNP. Mrs. Mitchell polled 4,750 votes to his 4,713. However, after occupying the seat in Parliament for four years, the Supreme Court delivered a judgement that Dabdoub was duly elected in 1997, and not Mrs. Mitchell.

In the 2002 election, Dabdoub brought home the seat. He switched political allegiance when he resigned from the JLP in March last year. He had been out of favour with senior members of the party since the return of Bruce Golding from the National Democratic Movement (NDM) in late 2002.

Dabdoub had attributed "the 'NDM-isation'" of the JLP as reasons for his resignation. The JLP, he said, had no vision and had lost touch with the principles on which it was founded.

Dabdoub subsequently joined the PNP and is now contesting the Portland West seat, which was formerly held by Errol Ennis who has decided to bow out of politics.

Mr. Dabdoub is also confident that he will retain theseat for the PNP. "I am winning the seat," he insisted. "(This is) on the basis of the reaction of the constituency and the welcome that I have had from the people and the commitment that I have been given on the house-to-house walk."

He told The Gleaner that he has no reservations that his switch from the JLP would have any impact on getting the support of the electorate.

"I have never conducted my politics on the basis of attacking any political party. I have always had issues with policies, including policies of the JLP when I was a JLP (so) I am always welcome wherever I go," he said.