Opposition party denies claims its president incited electoral fraud

The People’s National Party (PNP) has denied allegations that its leader, Mark Golding, encouraged supporters to commit electoral fraud to secure a win in the next general election, claiming his comments were taken out of context and were intended only as humour.

A video that has made the rounds on social media shows Golding speaking at a PNP rally in East Rural St Andrew, where he requested Comrades’ support to win the next election.

“Affi make sure seh every Comrade who voted for the PNP in 2011 and delivered the victory if they’re still alive, dem affi go vote fi Comrade Patrick Peterkin when the election call. And even some who not alive, you know if dem can deal with it, no problem,” Golding said as he rallied supporters on Sunday, July 23.

Patrick Peterkin was recently confirmed as the PNP’s representative in the East Rural St Andrew constituency.

However, on Monday, July 24, the Opposition party was driven into damage control mode as it released a statement denying allegations that Golding was encouraging Comrades to commit electoral fraud. According to the PNP, the party president’s remarks were intended as humorous responses to a comment made by a supporter.

“Golding emphasised the significance of rallying support from all supporters willing and able to cast their votes. The statement in question was a lighthearted response to a remark from a supporter who said, ‘…wake dem up…’ to which Golding later added, ’cause as they say we are the Power party'”

“Without context, the portion of the speech which is in the public domain has been misconstrued as literal when it was, in fact, intended as humour and was purely figurative in nature,” the PNP sought to explain.

The party also sought to reassure the public that the PNP upholds the principles of a fair election to maintain democracy, requesting that the Electoral Commission cleans up the voter’s list so that no political party can use a dead voter’s name to cast a ballot.

Golding facing backlash

Since the circulation of the video, Golding has faced heavy backlash from citizens, advocates and the Government.

Joining the fleet of people criticising the Opposition leader for his comments is human rights lobby Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ), which labelled Golding’s comments dangerous and should be retracted.

“As the country seemingly enters an election season, we urge leaders to be circumspect in their utterances. JFJ also calls on the government to advise which state agency has assumed the role of the political ombudsman,” the advocacy group wrote in a post on Twitter.

The post of political ombudsman remains vacant after Donna Parchment Brown demitted office last November.

The next general election is due in 2025.

The ruling Party, the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), also denounced the comments made by the PNP president, requesting that Golding retract his comments and state his commitment to democracy.