Ian Hayles: I am 100% confident I will win

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

Thirty-five-year-old Ian Hayles is the PNP candidate for the Hanover Western seat. The one-time president of the JLP affiliate group, Generation 2000 (G2K), was also a JLP caretaker for North Trelawny. He, however, left the JLP in a huff when he also resigned from the party in tow with Horne.

Hayles, who was a member of the party's standing committee for more than two years, said he was tired of the constant bickering and infighting in the JLP. At the time, he said he had not ruled out the possibility of seeking membership in the PNP.

Now down to contest the Hanover Western seat, which has been predominantly held by the PNP since 1989, Hayles is also confident of a win.

"I am 100 per cent confident," he told The Gleaner.

Mr. Hayles said his confidence is supported by the 2002 results where the PNP won the seat by 2,000 votes with a 63 per cent turnout. He is proposing to win the seat by a 4,000 margin.

He also is not worried that his history with the JLP will affect his chance of winning the seat.

"That has never been a concern of the people. I resigned from the JLP two years ago and that has not been a problem," he said. "The problems of the constituency are the concerns of the people."