# 2020 People's National Party leadership election

The 2020 People's National Party (PNP) leadership election was triggered after Peter Phillips announced his intention to resign as Leader of the People's National Party following the party's defeat at the 2020 general election. It was held on November 7, 2020. If Hanna was elected, she would have served as the second female President of a Jamaican political party and the second female Leader of the Opposition in Jamaican history. The election was won by Former Minister of Justice and Member of Parliament for St Andrew Southern and Attorney Mark Golding who secured 1,740 or 54.6% of the vote.

## Background

The announcement of the election date was made on September 27, 2020 at a meeting of the PNP's National Executive Council (NEC) at the Jamaica Conference Centre in Kingston, with nomination date for candidates occurring from October 19 to 23 and a list of the final delegates produced by October 30.

## Declared candidates

Roles in bold are currently held.
| Candidate | Candidate | Last political roles | Announced | Campaign Launched | Campaign slogan |
| | Mark Golding | Member of Parliament for Saint Andrew Southern (since 2017) | 22 September 2020 | 19 October 2020 | "Go With Golding" |
| | Lisa Hanna | Member of Parliament for Saint Ann South Eastern (since 2007) | 27 September 2020 | 5 October 2020 | "Bring Back Di Love" |

## Results

| Candidate | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Turnout: 96% |||||
| | Mark Golding | 1,740 | 54.6 |
| | Lisa Hanna | 1,444 | 45.4 |

## Endorsements

Leadership candidates were endorsed by various notable politicians and persons representing sectors of civil society.

### Mark Golding

* Luther Buchanan, Former Deputy General Secretary of the PNP
* Gabriela Morris, Senator
* Joan Gordon Webley, Caretaker MP for East Rural St Andrew and Former Ambassador
* Joseph Matalon, Radio Jamaica Chairman
* Scean Barnswell, Councillor for the Hayes Division in the Clarendon Municipal Corporation
* Noel Arscott, Former Vice President of the PNP and former South West Clarendon MP
* Sheryl Lee Ralph, Jamaican-American Actress
* Garfield Sinclair, Chief Executive Officer of The Bahamas Telecommunications Co. Ltd. and Vice President of Cable & Wireless Communications (Northern Cluster)
* Chris Deering, American Businessman and Marketer
* Patricia Duncan-Sutherland, Caretaker MP for South East Clarendon.
* Angela Brown-Burke, MP for Saint Andrew South Western
* Omar Newell, President of the PNP Patriots
* Lydia Richards, Councillor for the Bensonton Division in South East St Ann
* Peter Bunting, Former PNP General Secretary and Caretaker MP for Manchester Central
* Lambert Weir, Councillor for the Claremont Division in South East St Ann

### Lisa Hanna

* Phillip Paulwell, PNP Vice President
* Wykeham McNeill, PNP Vice President
* Mikael Phillips, PNP Vice President and MP for North West Manchester
* Andre Haughton, Former Opposition Senator, Caretaker for St. James West Central
* Janice Allen, Opposition Senator
* Donovan Mitchell, Mayor of Mandeville, Councillor for Royal Flat Division
* Neville Wright, Councillor, Trench Town Division, St. Andrew South
* Imani Duncan-Price, Caretaker MP for Kingston Central
* Audrey Smith-Facey, Councillor for St. Andrew South Western
* Dwayne Vaz, Former MP for Westmoreland Central, Chairman PNP Region 6
* Dennis Gordron, Councillor for Maxfield Park Division, St Andrew East Central
* Oswest Senior-Smith, Caretaker MP for North Eastern St Catherine
* Patrick Roberts, Councillor for Molynes Division, Caretaker for St. Andrew West Central
* Alrick Campbell, Councillor for Edgewater Division, St. Catherine South Eastern
* Michael Troupe, Councillor for Granville Division, St. James West Central
* Donna Scott Mottley, Leader of Opposition business in the Senate
* Natalie Neita, MP for North Central St Catherine
* Morais Guy, MP for Central St Mary
* Kenord Grant, Councillor for Bridgeport Division, St. Catherine South East
* Denise Daley, MP for East St Catherine
* Valerie Neita Robertson, Caretaker MP for Portland Western
* Venesha Phillips, Councillor for the Papine Division

## Opinion polling

| Date | Pollster | Sample size | | | | | | | | Lead |
| Date | Pollster | Sample size | Peter Bunting | Damion Crawford | Mark Golding | Lisa Hanna | Phillip Paulwell | Mikael Phillips | Julian Robinson | Lead |
| 7 Nov 2020 | 2020 PNP leadership election | – | – | – | 54.6 | 45.4 | – | – | – | 9.2 |
| 28-31 October 2020 | Lisa Hanna/Blue Dot Data Intelligence Ltd | 1,078 | – | – | 36 | 46 | – | – | – | 10 |
| 24-28 October 2020 | Mark Golding/Don Anderson/Market Research Ltd | 1,077 | – | – | 46 | 45 | – | – | – | 1 |
| 19-24 September 2020 | People's National Party/Don Anderson/Market Research Ltd | 1,061 | – | – | 26 | 34 | 5 | 2 | 14 | 8 |
| 11-13 September 2020 | Bill Johnson/Jamaica Observer | 1,000 | 8 | – | 10 | 20 | – | – | – | 10 |
| 3 September 2020 | | The PNP loses the 2020 Jamaican general election and Peter Bunting loses his seat | The PNP loses the 2020 Jamaican general election and Peter Bunting loses his seat | The PNP loses the 2020 Jamaican general election and Peter Bunting loses his seat | The PNP loses the 2020 Jamaican general election and Peter Bunting loses his seat | The PNP loses the 2020 Jamaican general election and Peter Bunting loses his seat | The PNP loses the 2020 Jamaican general election and Peter Bunting loses his seat | The PNP loses the 2020 Jamaican general election and Peter Bunting loses his seat | The PNP loses the 2020 Jamaican general election and Peter Bunting loses his seat | The PNP loses the 2020 Jamaican general election and Peter Bunting loses his seat |
| 21-23 August 2020 | Bill Johnson/Jamaica Observer | 1,000 | 36 | 12 | | 17 | – | – | – | 19 |