More than 500 vaccinated Labourities are slated to participate in the Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP) annual conference this Sunday.

The JLP is now putting the final touches to the preparations for what it is describing as ‘Jamaica’s first really digital annual conference by a political party’ to be held under the theme ‘Building Back Stronger’.

JLP Deputy Leader Desmond McKenzie — who is scheduled to chair the conference — and the party’s General Secretary Dr Horace Chang are slated to host a media briefing on Thursday to provide final details on the conference, but yesterday the Jamaica Observer sought an update from head of the party’s Public Relations Committee Matthew Samuda on its preparations.

“You know how these sorts of productions are; you work right until it is done. But so far we are where we need to be in terms of preparation and the final details are being completed, but we are looking forward to the event,” Samuda told the Observer.

He noted that members of the party will be able to have direct input in the digital conference.

“Our constitution requires that for us to have a conference we must have a quorum of 500, and one should recall that this doesn’t square with the DRMA (Disaster Risk Management Act). So what we have done is that we will have 10 locations sticking within the gathering limit of 50 people all being able to watch and participate in an interactive way.

“They will be seated with the appropriate distancing and will all be vaccinated. This is how we are approaching conference, with live links between these spaces. Now, these are delegates’ selections, obviously, to represent varying area councils and affiliates of the party to ensure that the conference meets our constitutional requirements,” noted Samuda.

He added: “We think that this is perhaps the first truly digital political conference, definitely in Jamaica, because you have had things that I would call lively national addresses, but this is a truly interactive event spread across the entire length and breadth of the country with representatives of the party.”

Samuda said the JLP is going through the process of writing to the various State agencies to ensure that its plans for the conference meet all the provisions of the DRMA.

The conference will be broadcast live on traditional and social media, including Jamaica Observer Online, with the address by the party leader, Prime Minister Andrew Holness to be the highlight.

“The conference will be used to explain to the country the steps we are taking to hit the target of saying we have built back stronger, as well as outline how we are going to deal with some of the current challenges that we do face,” Samuda said.