THE leadership of the governing Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP) campaign is standing by its internal polls which, it says, show the party with the momentum heading to the September 3 General Election.

The latest RJRGleaner-commissioned Don Anderson polls show the JLP and the People’s National Party (PNP) in a statistical dead heat with the PNP a shade ahead.

But at a hurriedly called media briefing on Thursday JLP Campaign Chairman Dr Christopher Tufton said, while the party takes note of external polls, it remains confident in the findings of its internal polls.

“We don’t attack polls. This is not our position. This JLP and [the] Government, we tend to shy away from speaking too much about polls. We observe, we assess, we listen, and we then determine how we position ourselves in terms of our response, our feedback, and indeed our policies and programmes,” said Tufton.

“We observe what is done independent of us and we conduct our own internally, because it is important for us to recognise a sense of direction and the public’s perception of our direction,” Tufton added.

He told journalists that although the JLP is comfortable there is no room for complacency.

“We have observed those polls… Based on all the polls that we have seen, and those that we have conducted internally, we are comfortable that the Jamaica Labour Party has the momentum going into these elections on September third and that is a comfortable position to be in, but it is not a reason to be complacent.

“We will continue to work harder for the support of the Jamaican people in order to secure a third term, because we believe that the Jamaica Labour Party is the best party at this time to move the country forward,” declared Tufton.

He said the JLP has compared its own polls to the Don Anderson polls and, “while these polls do offer some insights, we have also formed insights based on our own internal polls, and we believe that there are some similarities in some areas and in other areas we have alternative views, but we are comfortable and confident in our approach and in our strategy”.

Tufton’s comment comes on the heels of similar sentiments from JLP Leader Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness recently.

Responding to journalists on Monday, after he was nominated to contest the St Andrew West Central constituency in the general election, Holness said his party is confident in its internal polls.

“The Don Anderson polls, for what they are worth, have not been very accurate, and I don’t rely on them. The truth is we have commissioned our own polls and our polls show a scenario that is totally different from what is being painted or portrayed. We don’t disclose our polls for good reasons,” said Holness.

“One of the things, of course, we don’t want any complacency to set in, but we have done a poll of 23 seats and we have used a large sample and so we are confident in what our polls are showing,” added Holness.

In the meantime, the JLP has indicated that it will be releasing its manifesto during a mass meeting in Sam Sharpe Square, Montego Bay, St James, on Sunday.

“We have heard people saying, ‘We want to see what is in the JLP’s manifesto,’ and we think that’s great. We are responding to that of course by ensuring that we meet our commitment…We will be sharing our manifesto in a new, creative way,” said Kamina Johnson-Smith, head of the JLP manifesto committee.

“I Choose Jamaica: The Next Chapter will be launched for the first time out of Kingston. No manifesto has ever been launched outside of Kingston nor has one ever been launched at a mass rally,” added Johnson Smith.

JLP Campaign Chairman Dr Christopher Tufton addressing a media briefing at the party’s Belmont Road, St Andrew, headquarters on Thursday. (Photo: Naphtali Junior)