JLP dismisses PNP’s call for electoral review
AINSWORTH MORRIS / Our Today
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The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) has shunned calls from the People’s National Party (PNP) for a review of the island’s electoral process on the heels of the September 3 general election that gave the JLP a third consecutive term in office.
In calling for the review, the PNP charged that the polls were marred by various acts of voter suppression and glitches in the system.
But Dr Christopher Tufton, JLP campaign chairman, in a press conference on Thursday at the JLP headquarters, challenged the PNP to provide evidence of the voter suppression they complain about or “shut up”.
“To suggest that that may have impacted the final results of the election…is, as far as we are concerned, guilty by hearsay, and this is wrong. We reject that and we condemn them for that,” Tufton said.
Hours before, PNP President Mark Golding said at a press conference that the party has received reports of “widespread suppression” of PNP votes across several marginal constituencies, with reports of very large sums of money being paid.
Golding said the PNP also has concerns regarding aspects of the operations conducted by the Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ), citing complaints about long wait times for electors at some polling stations.
“We think there should be an independent enquiry into the operations of the 2025 general election, and it should be urgently undertaken,” Golding said.
Up to Thursday, the PNP has not lodged a formal complaint about voter suppression with any state agency responsible for the enforcement of electoral laws.
“We are going into the field to do a survey so that we can get more tangible information rather than the indirect reports that we have been receiving,” Golding said.
Despite this, he sought to make it clear that the PNP was not suggesting the government was not duly elected. “I don’t want to go down that road. That’s not a wise path for Jamaica. But I also believe it’s important that we do not sweep under the carpet matters which, in this election, were significant factors at play,” he said.
From the JLP’s end, Tufton cautions the PNP to “cease and desist from making these wild accusations”, saying it could fuel a certain level of anger and speculation that was not good for Jamaica’s democracy.
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