2 weeks ago
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The People’s National Party, has postponed its parish meeting in Kingston and St Andrew amid concerns about public safety and possible confrontations with supporters of the governing Jamaica Labour Party, JLP.
The JLP has planned a mass rally for Half-Way Tree on Sunday.
In announcing the postponement, PNP President Mark Golding appealed for national unity and a peaceful election campaign.
Chevon Campbell tells us more.
The PNP’s Kingston and St Andrew rally, originally set for Sunday, August 10 in Cross Roads, was to follow a bus tour across the parish on Saturday, August 9.
The event was intended to close out the party’s islandwide mobilisation campaign.
According to the PNP, all necessary permits for the Cross Roads rally were secured weeks ago.
But in light of the JLP’s rally, PNP President Mark Golding says they’ve decided to push back the meeting.
The PNP says the Prime Minister’s belated decision to stage his own political rally in nearby Half-Way Tree created an unnecessary overlap that could place rival supporters in close proximity.
The police had sought to assure Jamaicans that they would have been able to effectively man both rallies.
But, Mr. Golding says the PNP will not jeopardise public safety or overstretch police resources for the sake of what he describes as political theatre.
The PNP says the postponement reflects its core principles of protecting the public, supporting the security forces, putting Jamaica first, and demanding accountability.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the JLP Communication Taskforce, Senator Abka Fitz Henley, is disputing claims the PNP had made arrangements to host a mass rally ahead of the governing JLP.
And, Senator Fitz Henley dismissed suggestions that the Prime Minister had a hand in planning the rally set for Sunday.
Abka Fitz Henley, Chairman of the JLP Communication Taskforce.
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