Constitutional Affairs Minister Marlene Malahoo Forte says her controversial remarks over the constitutional due date for the next general election “were intended to promote a better understanding in the media and the public at large of the provisions of our laws” regarding the polls.

During a recent meeting of the Joint Select Committee of Parliament, Malahoo Forte suggested that December, not September as widely believed, was the latest date per the law to hold the general election.

The comments were slammed by the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) as “gratuitous”, with the party claiming that the remarks appeared to be designed to inject uncertainty and confusion among the public.

READ: PNP gen sec says Malahoo-Forte comments on election date ‘provocative and unnecessary’

In a statement on Friday, the minister said her remarks were “clarification of a point in law on which there is misinformation in the public domain about when the Constitution of Jamaica prescribes that general elections in Jamaica are to be held, if not sooner called.”

She further noted that she did not comment on when a general election will be called out of recognition of the fact that that decision remains the prerogative of the prime minister. Furthermore, she said, Prime Minister Andrew Holness “has already stated publicly that elections are due by September 2025, therefore there is no need to interpret a pure point of information as an intent.”

In dismissing the calls from the Opposition, Malahoo Forte added, “the government is steadily achieving success in addressing the matters affecting the people, while the Opposition is singularly focused on achieving power at all cost including creating confusion and spreading misinformation”.