Commonwealth candidate sells her agenda, Jamaica calls for change

Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland.

Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland at a conference in Nairobi on April 27. PHOTO | FILE

Just as Jamaica’s Foreign minister Kamina Johnson-Smith was completing her tour of Africa this past week, during which she sought support to become the next Commonwealth Secretary-General, her country issued a statement to defend her candidature after the incumbent asked her to quit the race.

In a May 12 statement, the Jamaican government said the nomination was put forward “in a context where a change of leadership was clearly deemed desirable by member states across regions”.