JAMAICA Labour Party (JLP) Leader Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness has urged Jamaicans to be careful of what is promised to them during the campaign leading to the next general election.

Holness issued the plea as he addressed thousands of green-clad party supporters at a JLP Area Council Two gospel concert in Old Harbour, St Catherine, on Sunday night.

Stating that the JLP believes God is sovereign over all things, including politics and governance, Holness said, “There are things that I will readily admit that it is not within my control, and politics… it is like liquor; when you drink too much of it you get drunk.

“People get drunk on power, but even the fumes of power can get you drunk. Some people have gotten drunk on just the fumes of power,” said Holness.

In a 40-minute presentation Holness waxed biblical at times as he called on JLP candidates and supporters to be on their best behaviour while campaigning.

“We are reminded tonight that even on the political platform the standards of righteousness must not be lowered — our politics must reflect the wholesomeness of our people and the spiritual values that we must uphold as a nation,” Holness said.

He charged that there are people who have used the political stage primarily to bring down people, “thinking that popularity can be earned through profanity”.

“We are not in a race to the gutter,” said Holness who recently wrote to JLP candidates urging them to conduct themselves properly on the campaign trail.

This was after controversial Member of Parliament for St Catherine South Western Everald Warmington, the chairman of Area Council Two, apologised following an expletive-laced rant at a political rally in Westmoreland Central.

Over the weekend, People’s National Party (PNP) President Mark Golding also apologised after he uttered an expletive as he encountered microphone problems at a PNP meeting.

“We are living in a time when truth is being sacrificed at the altar. Lies, half-truths are being spread by the Opposition — not just in the heat of a campaign but as part of a sustained strategy to mislead and confuse,” Holness said.

“I want to point it out to you… that not everything you hear on social media, not everything you hear in the newspapers, on the radio, and certainly on the Opposition platform is true,” declared Holness.

“Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but they that deal in truth are His delight. We as the Government, we have an obligation to deal in truth and we have set standards for our public communication, with our social media. And anything that we put out as a Government, as far as possible, must be true.

“We [are] not going to craft anything to mislead or twist anything for popularity. We have an obligation to give you, the people of this country, the truth so that you can make the right decisions… and we can do this because we believe and we know that we have the truth on our side. We have a record of performance that speaks for itself,” Holness continued.

He told the crowd that the JLP also has plans that will speak even louder in the future.

Among those plans are 60,000 new housing developments that Holness said will come on stream if the party is given a third term in office.

He said 15,000 of these units, which would be affordable housing, will be built in the Greater Innswood Area of St Catherine.

Holness also pointed to the billions of dollars being spent to overhaul the country’s health facilities, including a new wing at Spanish Town Hospital.

“We can show the evidence and the substance of the things that you want and therefore you can have faith in this Government,” said Holness.

“It is only left for me to say to you who are gathered and those who are listening, that you have a choice; you can choose ‘chaka chaka’ or you can choose order. You can choose a promise or you can choose delivery and performance. You can choose bad mind…,” added Holness.

The JLP’s Area Council Two is made up of the parishes of St Catherine, St Thomas, Portland, and St Mary and covers 18 constituencies. All 18 potential candidates were presented on stage Sunday night.