MANDEVILLE, Manchester — Registrar of political parties and liaison for the Office of the Political Ombudsman Llofraun Thompson says she has noticed “political tolerance and not much intimidation” as the two main political parties campaign ahead of parliamentary election.

“We are out in the field and we are looking to observe political displays to see what is happening in terms of candidates having free rein to have the display of their paraphernalia and to see peaceful interaction with supporters, and just to observe that the Political Code of Conduct is being adhered to and that we have persons feeling that they may have their displays and not being destroyed in any way,” Thompson told the Jamaica Observer on Tuesday.

She was speaking during a tour of Mandeville in the Manchester Central constituency by a team from the Office of the Political Ombudsman.

She said the team had visited Newlands in St Catherine East Central before heading to Mandeville.

“[In] going across the island we have been seeing, for the most part, interactions that suggest that there is political tolerance and not much intimidation displayed in terms of seeing the destruction of persons’ paraphernalia. So far so good, and we hope to see it continuing,” said Thompson.

“We [will] go to the different areas and we don’t know what may come, but so far we have been satisfied to say that in this area persons are existing peacefully,” added Thompson.

When asked about the end result of the tours, Thompson explained that if breaches of the Political Code of Conduct are seen then dialogue would be likely to happen with the politicians in those areas.

“If we see something that concerns us we may talk to the parties involved. We may mention what we see in the field [to] encourage [and] remind what the code requires of them. It certainly shows the stance of the commission — the political ombudsman speaking through that united front along with the political parties, [what] is expected under the agreement and declaration on political code of conduct,” she said.

Thompson also called on political parties to urge their supporters abide by the Political Code of Conduct.

“We hope that it will impact the behaviour of supporters and it is the message of the political parties to their followers to say, ‘Listen, this is what we stand for; we hope that you will display this in the field for yourself, on our behalf’. That is the national aim, really, to have our democracy demonstrated in a way that is peaceful [and] respectful,” she said.

Regarding the vandalism of posters and flags, Thompson acknowledged that there have been reports of incidents but pointed to competing political paraphernalia on the same poles in some communities.

“There are complaints of vandalism from time to time and when you go and you see the different political colours it suggests that they are at peace, even for the moment,” said Thompson who was speaking with the Observer hours before news broke of a shooting incident in Kingston Central.

While there was no report from the police on the incident up to press time, the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) has reported that Member of Parliament Donovan Williams and a group of his supporters and campaign team members were at the intersection of Tower Street and South Camp Road when armed men emerged from a motor vehicle and opened fire in their direction.

According to the JLP, Williams, his team, and party supporters took evasive action when the attack took place and the gunmen fled the scene after opening fire.

In a media release Wednesday afternoon the Office of the Political Ombudsman said it has taken note of the incident of gunfire.

“While the circumstances surrounding the incident remain unconfirmed, we urge calm and cooperation with the police as they conduct investigations into the occurrence.

”The Political Ombudsman remains adamant that acts of violence, retaliation and intimidation, politically motivated or otherwise, are to be neither accepted nor tolerated. These incidents of violence threaten to unravel the fabric of democracy which our country has worked tirelessly to maintain,” the release said,

”We recognise that campaigning is intensifying and tensions may run high as we approach the general election, however, we remind political actors and supporters to allow the electoral process to run its course without interference.

“The Political Ombudsman continues to appeal to political parties, candidates, and their supporters to conduct their activities peacefully, responsibly and with mutual respect, in keeping with the Code of Political Conduct. The Political Ombudsman is resolute in monitoring political activities with the support of the police, where necessary, to ensure that tensions do not escalate in a manner that undermines the expected peaceful and tolerant political campaigning. We are prepared to use any means at our disposal to achieve this,” the release added.

Registrar of political parties and liaison for the political ombudsman Llofraun Thompson points to flags and posters for the two main political parties on poles on Kendal Road in Manchester Central on Tuesday. (Photos: Kasey Williams)