NDM head claims political victimisation hindering membership drive
FEAR OF physical harm and political victimisation is said to be proving a serious hindrance to the National Democratic Movement’s (NDM) efforts to attract new members, its President Peter Townsend is indicating.
At the same time, Townsend is also rebuffing suggestions that his party has flatlined.
“The NDM is alive; as long as an organisation has membership and an executive and has its internal elections and upholds its constitution, then it’s alive,” Townsend said, “But people, especially young professionals, are scared of committing to us out of fear of being victimised.”
The NDM, which once served as a platform for Bruce Golding following his falling out with the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), and later a springboard back into the fold of the Labour party as leader and subsequently Prime Minister, has not lived up to expectations.
Townsend noted that the NDM’s inability to afford strong financial backing was stymieing its effort as it seeks to provide a serious third-party option.
“I agree that we are not active on the ground in the constituencies; that we do not have representatives running in elections. And I agree that we are operating more like a lobby or pressure group, but the truth is that we had to step back from the very active role of a political party because of the economics involved,” Townsend told The Gleaner.
“It is not easy to finance a viable political party in this modern dispensation. For one, all major funding goes to the PNP (People’s National Party) and the JLP. The NDM cannot at this time match that,” he said.