Officer Emeritus of the Opposition People’s National Party A J Nicholson last night lashed supporters of both Dr Peter Phillips and Peter Bunting for their ugly behaviour in the current leadership race.

“Leadership on the political landscape in our country is crying out for another — a wholly different — approach. So, this leadership contest that is now being played out within the People’s National Party has to be conducted in a manner to make for some game-changing outcomes. The moment has to be seized,” Nicholson said in a press statement.

“There is therefore the requirement, first and foremost, for a sense of decorum — an upful tone — to be injected at once into the exercise,” the former justice minister and attorney general pleaded.

Nicholson did not go into much specifics, but it is known that, as the leadership race rages on social media, some Comrades have been hurling strong language, including descriptions such as “mongrel dog”, at each other.

Dr Phillips and Bunting will go head to head for the position of PNP president on September 7 ahead of the annual conference after the latter declared that the party could not win another election with the current leader and threw his hat in the ring.

“Lest u forget u get a backside from Portia u and ur bunch a losers gone: abandon the PNP and sign secret MOU without Cabinet knowledge,” wrote one Mario Mitchell on Facebook, in obvious reference to Dr Phillips.

Responding to him, Ryan Lattibeaudiere Small wrote: “This is a very unfortunate comment for you of all persons to make about the leader and the MOU. Didn’t Bunting not grant immunity to the soldiers who murdered the innocent civilians?”

Nicholson said that for some time campaigning for leadership positions had sunken too much into personal attacks and he urged both sides “preferably in unison and as a matter of urgency” — to publicly issue “their wish, demand, directive that representations made on their behalf must be faithful to that required sense of decorum and upfulness”.

“The present output, in particular on social media, is not what is expected from membership of our party which, with its undoubted warts, boasts such a respectable tradition in this regard. A powerful message could be sent should both contestants for the presidency of NW’s (Manley) party move to publicly address that issue now, and to do so together.

“They must quickly be seen to lead meaningfully in that promotional space. And, what is more, that kind of example, and insistence, will help to smooth the path for the necessary bridge-building that must begin when the last vote comes to be counted,” he said.

Nicholson acknowledged that the PNP had not completely healed from the two leadership contests involving Dr Phillips and then President Portia Simpson Miller, and his statement was meant to help the healing process.