DEAD WRONG
Golding accused of endorsing ‘election fraud’, PNP calls comments ‘lighthearted’
Published:Tuesday | July 25, 2023 | 12:46 AMAinsworth Morris/Staff Reporter
Opposition Leader Mark Golding was yesterday bombarded with criticism over a Sunday night statement in which he appeared to imply that People’s National Party (PNP) supporters should ensure their candidate wins the next general election by using votes cast by individuals whether alive or dead.
Golding was speaking during a St Andrew East Rural constituency conference at Donald Quarrie High School, where he endorsed attorney-at-law Patrick Peterkin as the PNP’s prospective candidate to take on incumbent Member of Parliament Juliet Holness when the next national poll is called.
“Everybody, mek up unu mind! Work has to be done. It not going happen so. We have to mek sure seh every Comrade who voted for the People’s National Party 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 on the platform in a comment the PNP would later label “lighthearted” humour.
However, it was a comment that has been interpreted by others as a direct reference to engaging in the corrupt historic practice of using the votes of persons who have died, but have not been removed from the voters’ list, to help push one candidate or another towards certain victory.
Almost immediately after video of the PNP president making the statement began circulating online, critics began weighing in, loudest among them supporters of the governing JLP, dubbing it a promotion of ‘election fraud’.
In a press release, Young Jamaica – the youth arm of the JLP – condemned the comment as Golding’s stated intention to employ deceased PNP voters in an attempt to win the next election.
UNACCEPTABLE AND UNBECOMING
“His remarks, made during a rally over the weekend, are unacceptable and totally unbecoming of the president of the People’s National Party,” the Young Jamaica statement read. “As a sovereign nation, we have come a long way in striving to remove toxic and divisive politics from our discourse. Golding’s inflammatory statements are counterproductive and serve to incite hostility and weaken the integrity of the electoral system our society worked hard to achieve.”
Rohan Walsh, president of Young Jamaica, also asserted in the statement that Jamaica has long abandoned such types of politics.
“This is election fraud, and the fact that the leader of the PNP was audacious enough to stand on a platform and instruct his supporters to use dead voters shows that his leadership is not in the best interest of Jamaica,” Walsh stated.
He said the Jamaican electoral system cannot in any way mirror that of how the PNP chooses its candidates, where, he claimed, there are constant questions of integrity and unfairness.
Walsh said that all thoughtful Jamaicans, including private sector and civil society groups, must condemn Golding’s “plan to undermine free and fair elections in Jamaica”.
He added: “We have worked diligently to build a free and fair electoral system where we can guarantee one man, one vote. The idea that the leader of a major political party in Jamaica seeks to undermine that process should disqualify him from office.”
According to Walsh, Young Jamaica firmly stands by the principles of free and fair elections and will fight to ensure that our electoral processes are not undermined by the PNP.
Another youth arm of the JLP, Generation 2000, also condemned Golding’s remarks, calling it “retrograde” and “disgraceful”.
“Generation 2000 (G2K), the young professional affiliate of the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), is slamming as retrograde, disgraceful and brazen PNP President Mark Golding’s ostensible call for the names of deceased Comrades to be used to influence the outcome of the next general election by way of a vote,” G2K stated.
In their statement, G2K also cautioned Golding that he would not be allowed to drag Jamaica back to an unfortunate era of many decades ago where the names of deceased people were used to unlawfully influence the outcome of elections.
“G2K is proud of the stellar work of the Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ) in helping to propel Jamaica out of the aforementioned dark days. The young professional arm of the JLP is putting the PNP president on notice that it will strongly resist any call for a return to the days of electoral fraud and malpractice,” the statement outlined.
Shayne Kerr, president of G2K, called for Golding to immediately retract his comments and apologise while affirming a commitment to conducting himself in a manner where his words do not appear to endorse electoral malpractice.
He also said the comments have removed the “new and different” veil in which he said the PNP president has attempted to clothe himself.
Kerr called for all of Jamaica, including civil society, to reject Golding’s “distasteful remarks”.
Kerr also said that, following what he said were the patently clear and revealing words uttered by Golding, it might be appropriate for the police to probe whether there was a plot by the PNP to unduly influence the outcome of the next general election by using the names of deceased voters to add to the voter turnout and ballots cast in its favour.
In addition to the comments from the JLP operatives, Mickel Jackson, executive director of Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ), also added her voice to the concerns.
In a post on social media platform, Twitter, Jackson said she was disgusted by Golding’s comment.
“The leader of opposition (LOO) must clarify his statement made last night ... . This particular statement was made when urging supporters to vote,” Jackson tweeted.
“Leaders must be mindful of what they say on political platforms,” she added.
She also stated that urgent clarification was needed from Golding as “clear inferences can be drawn from such a statement, unintended or not”.
“With a political history marred by voter fraud, one cannot brush this aside. Again, the LOO must speak quickly,” she tweeted.
Late yesterday evening, in responding to the public backlash over his party president’s utterances, Dayton Campbell, general secretary of the PNP, said Golding’s comment was reported on without proper context.
“Mr 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 Mr Golding later added, ‘cause as they say we are the power party’,” Campbell stated.
“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,” he stated.
Campbell went on to declare that the PNP upholds the principles of free and fair elections, ensuring the integrity of Jamaica’s democratic process.
He also stated that the PNP urges “the Electoral Commission of Jamaica to ensure that the voters’ list is cleaned up, as no political party should be able to cause dead persons to vote in Jamaican elections”.