Member of Parliament for St Andrew South Western, Dr Angela Brown-Burke has created history by becoming the first woman to be elected Chairman of the People’s National Party (PNP).

Her victory comes almost a year after she lost in an earlier bid to become chairman of the strife-torn 83-year-old political organisation. 

According to the preliminary count from Saturday’s election, Brown-Burke polled 146 votes to the 120 polled by the acting chairman, Horace Dalley.

Dalley had been acting in the position since July when then chairman Phillip Paulwell, along with the party’s vice presidents resigned their posts en bloc, over their public disagreement with PNP President and Opposition leader Mark Golding.

When she challenged Paulwell for the position in November last year, Brown-Burke lost narrowly, polling 133 votes to Paulwell’s 153.

She will now be tasked with helping to unite a party that has become increasingly fractious over the past five years as it has been ripped apart by infighting.

At the party’s annual conference on October 17, former longstanding president and Prime Minister, PJ Patterson, along with former president Dr Peter Phillips warned comrades that a house divided against itself shall not stand.

If the official tally of the votes stands, some political pundits will consider Brown-Burke’s victory over Dalley a stunning upset. After he was installed as acting chairman in July, and having expressed that he would be challenging for the position, Dalley’s victory was seen as a done deal but it was not to be on Saturday.

Announcing Brown-Burke’s victory Dalley said, “It is with great respect that I present to you the new chairman of the People’s National Party, comrade Angela Brown-Burke.”

The announcement was greeted with cheers from Brown-Burke’s supporters, some of whom could even be heard yelling, “A woman time” as they responded to the news that she will be taking over the reins of the beleaguered party