Both parties attended and took responsibility, Parchment Brown says.
Hon. Donna Parchment Brown, Jamaica’s Political Ombudsman, issued the following statement following her meeting with individuals involved in the incident in Clarendon South Eastern last
Sunday.
“I held a meeting with both those directly affected and political representatives from both parties, namely People’s National Party (PNP) caretaker for the constituency Patricia Duncan Sutherland, and Mayor of May Pen and Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) representative Winston Maragh.
“The important outcome is that we got commitments from both parties to take responsibility for the actions of their supporters going forward.
“Under the Agreement and Declaration on Political Conduct, ‘nothing should be done to unlawfully prevent or restrict anyone from canvassing or campaigning in any place.’ While the JLP’s right to campaign was impeded, it appears that the actual violence may have been triggered by something which occurred during the altercation, but was not a political matter.
“As an independent and neutral Commission of Parliament, the Office of the Ombudsman’s job is to monitor and investigate potential breaches of the Code of Conduct and hold politicians accountable on behalf of the public.”
