The rules of engagement for the looming presidential contest will be at the top of the agenda when the People's National Party's (PNP) National Executive Council (NEC) meets today and tomorrow.

Already, there are clear signs the battle lines have been drawn in the high-stakes contest, which pits president Portia Simpson Miller against challenger, Dr Peter Phillips.

The PNP is well aware that any bloodletting could weaken its structure and affect its ability to contest a national election.

The more than 200 members of the NEC will be mandated to ratify the party's code of conduct, which will include sanctions for persons who breach the rules. The NEC, which is the party's highest decision-making body outside of its annual conference, will also use its last meeting of the political year to fine-tune plans for the conference to be staged in September.

overzealous supporters

Simpson Miller will address the conference on both days, but greater attention will be focused on the party's secretariat, which will be given the job of keeping overzealous supporters in line. General Secretary Peter Bunting and his team have already been called on to play referee after supporters of both candidates faced off in Montego Bay, St James, on Thursday.

Tempers flared at a constituency meeting in North West St James, which was called to elect the executive body.

Party sources said the constituency chairman, Henry McCurdy, a well-known Simpson Miller supporter, was to be challenged by Aldin Bellinfantie, who has thrown his weight behind Phillips. But a heated verbal exchange between supporters of the two men forced a postponement of the election.

Downplaying impact

Yesterday, Bunting sought to downplay the negative impact of the ugly clash, even though PNP supporters in the parish were adamant that this was the dark side of the leadership race playing out.

"While I have not received an official report on what took place on Thursday, I don't see an isolated incident having a wider implication now," Bunting told The Gleaner.

According to Bunting, if there should be a repeat of similar incidents in other constituencies, "then we would start to be concerned".

PNP vice-president Derrick Kellier also sought to downplay the clash, arguing that the meeting was rescheduled due to inadequate preparation.

"At the end of the day, we want this to be democratic and fair for everyone, and so we are now looking at the 21st of August," Kellier said. "This will give us additional time as we will be able to properly identify the delegates so that they can register and exercise their franchise."

He issued a reminder to delegates that the postponed election was to select a constituency executive and not a candidate to contest the next election.

The PNP NEC's two-day meeting will take place at the Inter-Faculty Lecture Theatre at the University of the West Indies, Mona campus.

The party secretariat has instructed both camps not to mobilise their supporters as only members of the NEC are expected at the meeting.