The youth arm of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), Young Jamaica, has hit back at recent comments made by principal director of the National Integrity Action (NIA), Danielle Archer, about the decision of the party to allow Marisa Dalrymple-Philibert to run as a candidate in the upcoming by-election for Trelawny Southern.

Archer shared with a local media house that the JLP’s decision is completely unacceptable as Dalrymple-Philibert is facing criminal charges for making false statements in her statutory declarations to the Integrity Commission.

However, Young Jamaica, in a statement on Thursday, said Archer’s accusation lacks respect for due process, displaying a disregard for the core legal principle of innocent until proven guilty.

“This principle, a cornerstone of any fair justice system, cannot be bypassed by a supposed non-partisan/civic group seeking to act as a judge, jury, and executioner in the court of public opinion,” it said.

The group also accused Archer of being ‘biased’ in ignoring similar situations with opposition figures such as Ian Hayles, Natalie Neita Headley, Michael Phillips, and Philip Paulwell, whose own court cases, it said, drew no such condemnation.

It further noted that the People’s National Party’s (PNP) endorsement of Isat Buchanan, a two-time drug convict, as candidate in the next general election has elicited no such utterances from the NIA.

“The Jamaica Labour Party’s decision to endorse Dalrymple-Philibert candidacy reflects the clear will of the people in Trelawny Southern. The people have the right to choose their representative. We challenge Ms Archer to produce any law disqualifying Ms Darymple-Philibert from candidacy solely due to pending court challenges. Our democracy is built on the people’s choice, not on the accusations and the suppositions of fringe bodies that field selective utterances,” Young Jamaica said.

The PNP has also raised strong opposition to the move by the governing JLP to endorse Dalrymple-Philibert as their candidate for Trelawny Southern.

She resigned in September of last year as MP for the constituency and speaker of the House of Representatives following the ruling by the Integrity Commission that she be charged.