The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) is to tone down the public session of its annual conference slated for next Sunday.

This is one of two major changes this year as the business session of the annual conference will be held today during four regional meetings.

"This conference will not be used as a campaign. We are not in any election mood," JLP General Secretary Karl Samuda told The Sunday Gleaner.

It will be the 66th annual conference of the JLP and the third since it won state power in September 2007.

However, the event, which the party had intended to stage in July, could be far from the pageantry and partying that is normally associated with annual political conferences.

The world economic crisis and worrying local social conditions have bedevilled the Bruce Golding-led administration and the JLP has seen much of its political goodwill evaporate.

"Even its own supporters have become disillusioned with the way the party has performed in government. It has lost a lot of the goodwill, if not all," political analyst Richard 'Dickie' Crawford told The Sunday Gleaner.

He argued that JLP supporters and fringe voters are turned off because "the party has not been able to keep many of its pre-election promises".

poor management

According to Crawford, the party's reign has been characterised by "an almost inexplicable weakness and instances of poor management which cannot be blamed on the world economic crisis or the 18 years that the People's National Party spent in power.

"People see that as ineffective and weak in government and it will be difficult for them to move even their own supporters come next Sunday," Crawford said.

But that is discarded by Samuda who told The Sunday Gleaner that the JLP has never found it difficult to generate enthusiasm in its members.

He said the party's leadership would use this conference to report candidly to the delegates and supporters of the party about their stewardship.

"The purpose of the conference is to bring our party supporters up to date on what measures are being introduced and what the future holds for the party and the country," Samuda said.

Unlike in previous years when the business session of conference took place the day before the public session, the party has collapsed its business session into Area Council meetings.

These meetings will be held today in the party's four area councils across the country.

Party leader and Prime Minister Bruce Golding is expected to attend most of the meetings.

Samuda told The Sunday Gleaner that the new format for the business session is being attempted in order to have a greater direct participation from delegates.

"We feel that in this way, we can get more done and a greater level of participation," the general secretary said.

"We anticipate that the turnout will be quiet and that they will take the message to every nook and cranny of the country," Samuda said of the meetings.

The discussions and reports from today's meeting will be presented by the general secretary at a special business session when the party meets next Sunday.