KINGSTON, Jamaica — People’s National Party President (PNP) Mark Golding on Thursday called for an independent enquiry into the operations of the Electoral Office of Jamaica, following what he said were reports of irregularities during last week’s general election which the Opposition PNP lost to the ruling Jamaica Labour Party.

Golding expressed concerns that the general voting process at polling stations contributed to voter frustration and suppression.

“The process that results in hours-long waits at many polling stations by voters who turn out to vote, frustrating electors and causing many to leave without voting. This factor is exacerbated by the law which only gives three hours as a window to employees to be away from their workplace during working hours for voting, which is clearly inadequate in Jamaica’s modern realities when you consider the time for transportation to get to a polling station from the workplace depending on where the person works and where they vote and the lengthy delays in the lines at some polling stations,” he explained.

The Opposition leader pointed to the usual practice of finger inking which he said is now being used by some agents to prevent voters from exercising their rights on election day.

“We also need to look at the use of finger inking. That was originally implemented to prevent multiple voting but it currently facilitates voter suppression as persons are being induced financially to dip their finger in ink prior to the vote and then being paid not to. We have several reports of this being done,” he said.

Alleging that there have been numerous reports of widespread suppression of PNP votes across marginal constituencies, Golding said, “…Reports of very large sums of money being paid. This strategy was enhanced by the timing of the elections and related giveaways in the back-to-school week, when parents in low-income families in particular are most vulnerable and could be financially induced to prioritise loyalty to their families and their children over party loyalties.”

“We are also concerned about the unprecedented scale of distribution of benefits — black tanks, fertiliser, building materials, cash — by both the state and the Jamaica Labour Party and in some cases it is very difficult to distinguish one from the other,” he added.

The PNP president further expressed concerns regarding the “black book”, used for voters who show up to cast their ballots without identification, and called for the integrity of the voters’ list to be re-verified.

“We’re also concerned about the black book, and we believe that the polling that is used in polling stations must be made available during the polling process for viewing by indoor agents and not left entirely to the presiding officer to identify voters who present themselves without IDs (identification).

“And the integrity of the voters’ list needs to be re-verified through comprehensive re-verification of voters, the clinic of dead voters in particular, and other voters who don’t have a place of residence in their constituency where they vote,” he continued.

Golding also criticised the alleged use of government resources during the campaign period leading up to the general election.

“While we don’t have sufficient evidence to mount a legal challenge against the outcome of the elections, we are nonetheless deeply concerned at the extensive and, I would say, vulgar use of state resources to impact the outcome of the election over the campaign period,” he said, adding “Specifically, the massive political advertising paid for by ministries, departments and agencies of government during and up to election day at the cost of taxpayers to benefit the incumbent JLP [Jamaica Labour Party] administration is problematic.”

“We are going to have to, as a nation, look at the way in which public resources are used in support of political achievements in the election period,” he said.

The Opposition leader said his party will be sending out teams to conduct field surveys in constituencies most impacted by the issues.

“This survey will empower Jamaicans who experienced or witnessed these issues to share their experiences with us. Many persons are deeply upset by what took place and this process will allow them to get some closure. It will also assist us to advocate for changes to the law and the processes of elections that will ultimately help to protect Jamaica’s democracy from tactics that clearly affected the ultimate outcome of the 25th general election and which are not contemplated by the system that we have,” Golding said.

— Vanassa McKenzie