MANCHESTER, Jamaica – Member of Parliament for Manchester Central, the Jamaica Labour Party’s Rhoda Crawford says while she is disappointed that over 30 flags and posters bearing her image were torn down shortly after being erected on Bonitto Crescent in Mandeville, she is urging her supporters not to retaliate.

“Only one poster board was left in Bonitto Crescent. The re-elect Rhoda team embarked on a constituency wide installation of my billboards and flags. We started from July 10th that [was] the evening following a stakeholder meeting that was held among all the [politicians] in Manchester with the police and the electoral office in a bid to ensure peaceful campaigning across the parish,” she said on Monday.

“In less than 24 hours after we mounted poster boards and flags in Bonitto Crescent [of the] more than 30 odd flags and about nine poster boards [erected]… only one poster board was left remaining and two flags,” she added.

Crawford is expected to face Mandeville mayor Donovan Mitchell, the People’s National Party’s aspirant for Manchester Central at the next parliamentary election.

Mitchell replaced Senator Peter Bunting, who is vying to contest the elections in Manchester Southern.

Bunting lost to Crawford in the September 3, 2020 General Election. Crawford polled 8,139 votes over Bunting’s 6,989 votes.

Crawford said she is “not fazed” by the removal of the boards and flags.

“I see this as a deliberate attempt to antagonise the supporters of the Jamaica Labour Party in Manchester Central and to derail our efforts, but this attempt is best described as cowardly and the re-elect Rhoda campaign we are not fazed. We are not derailed, we will continue our re-election efforts and we want to encourage my opponent to urge his supporters to desist from removing or damaging our poster boards,” she said.

“I ran in 2020 and I never experienced this sort of intimidation, it is just a cowardly act. We didn’t have this either in the Local Government election and this kind of politics I reject, it doesn’t represent me, it doesn’t represent my leadership style. I led with dignity. I just want to urge my supporters not to respond, not retaliate. Let us maintain our focus on running a very clean election campaign…” added Crawford.

–        Kasey Williams