CANDIDATES vying for the role of president of the People’s National Party (PNP) yesterday signed a code of conduct committing them to a clean and fair campaign leading up to the internal presidential election on November 7.

The document, to which St Ann South East Member of Parliament Lisa Hanna and St Andrew South Member of Parliament Mark Golding attached their signatures at PNP headquarters, outlined a list of agreements and rules that both candidates must abide by during their respective campaigns.

“The candidates will agree that the interest and reputation of the party are paramount and they will ensure that their campaigns and other activities will in no way cause damage or injury to the party or its reputation,” according to the document.

“The candidates will ensure that they will make all reasonable efforts to ensure members of their campaign teams and supporters behave with the utmost dignity and decorum and accord respect to other candidates and party members,” PNP general secretary Julian Roberts read from the code of conduct.

Some of the campaign rules are: No candidate shall engage in personal attacks, defamation, acts of deliberate misinformation, malicious statements or vulgar abuse against any other candidate. Their campaign teams and supporters and candidate shall make best efforts to prevent members of their campaign teams from engaging in such conduct.

Party Chairman Fitz Jackson is happy so far.

“When they were called upon just yesterday (Monday) to have the signing done today, neither one of them hesitated to sign the code of conduct. That was very encouraging. I think it indicates a certain amount of maturity and willingness by both Comrades to ensure that we have a clean campaign going forward for the election,” Jackson told members of the media.

The rules in the code of conduct addressed campaign financing, restricting candidates from accepting funds for their campaign from any foreign government or agent thereof; any public body; any entity whose existence is or activities are illegal; a person or entity whose identity is undisclosed to the recipient; a person or entity who makes contributions through a middleman; and a person or entity using a false identity.

A monitoring committee has been set up by the party to enforce the rules of the code and to hold both candidates to account for any breaches.

“When we see any breaches we will bring it to the attention of the monitoring committee and there are provisions for them to make public statements disassociating themselves from the remarks, if it is an acrimonious, vulgar remark.

“It’s really to get them to desist rather than necessarily getting to the point of punishment. It’s for prevention.

“I was very delighted in the remarks made by both candidates in terms of their own commitment and what they will seek to have their respective supporters do,” said Jackson.

Outgoing party president Dr Peter Phillips, meanwhile, urged supporters of either candidate to be mindful of the party’s standing as they conduct themselves during their respective campaigns.

“That means that everyone will have to be mindful in all that they do and all that they say, because at the end of it all, we are all going to have to come together with common purpose and with a willingness and an ability to collaborate with each other.

“I am going to ask, particularly of the candidates and the leadership of their campaign team, to accept this responsibility to protect this institution which ultimately is one of the great institutions of our country, and in fact a great contributor to the evolution of Jamaican society and the Jamaican people,” said Dr Phillips.

In their opening statements, both Hanna and Golding verbally agreed to live up to the code of conduct, and gave their commitment to upholding the reputation of the PNP.

“I look forward to a clean campaign. I ask all my supporters to stay high and don’t go low,” said Golding, who was accompanied by his campaign manager Patricia Duncan Sutherland, PNP caretaker for Clarendon South East.

Hanna, who has already launched a visible ‘Bring Back the Love’ campaign, stressed that a clean and respectful campaign was always her intention. She was accompanied by Senator Donna Scott Motley, her campaign manager.

“We were very clear at the onset that we intend to run a clean campaign that does not hit below the belt. Our campaign team has been very strident in that. And we also are very clear that we believe in vision and not vitriol,” Hanna said.