KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) has filed a formal complaint with the Political Ombudsman, accusing People’s National Party (PNP) caretaker for St Catherine South East, Dr Alfred Dawes, of violating the Political Code of Conduct with a social media post deemed “provocative and potentially inciting”.

In a letter dated May 22, JLP Senator Charles Sinclair, who also serves as Deputy General Secretary of the JLP, described a video posted by Dawes to Instagram and TikTok on or about May 21. The video shows Dawes walking toward the JLP’s headquarters on Belmont Road in St Andrew while wearing an orange cap—symbolic of the PNP—accompanied by a song with explicit gun-related lyrics.

The lyrics referenced in the complaint include:

“… badman, real, real gangster, whul on, TV, say dem bad but memba dem a actor, whul on, full a Benjamin and Sangster, we have bare handgun, we have choppaz when me say choppa, a nuh helicopter.”

The caption accompanying the post reads, “fraid? me?”

The JLP claims that the post, paired with the lyrics, promotes criminality and gangsterism and may incite political tensions or be interpreted as a threat. The party believes the video breaches multiple sections of the Political Code of Conduct, including:

·         Section 3(a) and (b), which discourage actions likely to provoke confrontation or increase tension between political factions.

·         Section 1(a) and (c), which prohibit violence, intimidation, and threats—whether implied or expressed.

The party has asked the Office of the Political Ombudsman to investigate the matter and determine whether Dawes’ actions amount to a breach of the political conduct standards.

As of publication time, Dawes had not publicly responded to the complaint. The Political Ombudsman’s office which is in the Electoral Commission of Jamaica has not issued a statement regarding the matter.