KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Office of the Political Ombudsman (OPO) will issue the findings of its 2020 General Election Campaign Review Report — a first in Jamaica’s history — during a virtual event on June 2.

This, it said, follows what can be considered the most unusual and difficult campaign period in the country’s recent past given the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the first time implementation of the Campaign Finance Legislation.

The report will include recommendations for improvements to Jamaica’s election campaign activities, particularly those related to the Office of the Political Ombudsman (OPO).  It follows a review of the campaign through interviews with experts and other stakeholders conducted by the Office of the Political Ombudsman between October and November, after the September 3, 2020 General Elections.

“The recommendations cover a range of issues including the question of how election rules should be enforced, how sanctions/penalties should be applied, and the enforcement role of the Office of the Political Ombudsman,” said Political Ombudsman Donna Parchment Brown.

The political ombudsman said the report also addresses questions about the role of the office over the coming years including funding and legislative support.

“It discusses how we can cement the gains made since the OPO was established to monitor campaign activities which have in the past been subject to political violence,” she explained.

Noting that the 2020 general election campaign was held in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic limiting face-to-face gatherings and that forced other changes to the general election campaign, Parchment Brown said those issues are also addressed in the report given their historic impact on election campaign activities.

The opening speaker at the virtual event on Wednesday is the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations, Baroness Patricia Scotland. The virtual event may be viewed on the OPO’s Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/JAPoliticalOmbudsman/.