Allegations by the People’s National Party (PNP) of irregularities at the polls drew a sharp rebuke from the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) on Thursday, with Campaign Chairman Dr Christopher Tufton telling the Opposition to “shut up” and accept defeat rather than cast doubt on the integrity of the country’s democratic process.

With tensions still high after the September 3, 2025 General Election, Tufton dismissed the PNP’s claims of widespread voter suppression as baseless, insisting the party should reflect on its shortcomings instead of blaming the electoral process.

Tufton was speaking at a press conference at the party’s headquarters on Belmont Road in St Andrew just hours after the PNP made the allegations at a press conference at its Old Hope Road headquarters in St Andrew.

Tufton dismissed the Opposition’s statements as nothing more than “sour grapes”. He said the allegations lacked substance and risked fuelling unnecessary division in a country that had just gone through a peaceful election.

“If the PNP thinks that is happening, they should provide the evidence, otherwise they should shut up, and I say so as diplomatically as possible, and focus on being an Opposition,” Tufton declared.

He accused the PNP of attempting to justify its loss with “innuendos, hearsay and rumours” instead of taking responsibility for what he believes are the party’s own campaign failures.

Tufton also rejected the suggestion that alleged irregularities may have altered the final results.

“The facts are that they lost, the people have expressed their will to continue with this Government, which we are grateful for, and what I would advise — even though it is not my place to do — the PNP to do is to engage in their own process of self-reflection to determine why they fell short and what they may need to do to be an effective Opposition over the next term ,” Tufton said.

He also warned that the PNP’s claims risked fuelling speculation and anger among its supporters, which, he argued, was “not good for democracy and certainly not good for the transition that is taking place”.

He dismissed outright the notion that the alleged incidents could have influenced the election outcome, pointing instead to the clear majority won by the JLP, reminding that of the 63 parliamentary seats the governing party secured 35, while the PNP won 28.

“It is wrong and we reject it. We condemn them for making these wild accusations, which clearly fuel a level of speculation and anger. The reality is that we went out, we did the work, and the Jamaican people responded,” Tufton said.

Turning to the wider debate about the legitimacy of the Government, Tufton said suggestions that the Andrew Holness Administration was somehow a minority Government were dangerous and misleading. He stressed that Jamaica’s system is based on the number of seats won, not the raw vote count, and that by this measure the JLP had secured a clear mandate.

“We won the majority of the seats, and that is enough conclusion that we are the legitimate authority to carry the country forward. Secondly, we were declared by the Electoral Commission of Jamaica as the party, the political organisation that got the majority of the seats, and the numbers are there. The recounts took place, the willingness of persons to lodge complaints, to do recounts, all of that process has worked and that again should be enough evidence to support the legitimacy of the Administration,” he said.

Joining the rebuttal, chair of the party’s Manifesto and Achievements Committee Kamina Johnson Smith described the PNP’s stance as “frivolous” and “desperate”. She pointed to the Opposition’s announcement at its press conference to not file for magisterial recounts in any constituency, the normal avenue for contesting close results.

“So they have said that they’re not doing that. Regardless of the fact, of course, that the time has already passed for them to have been able to do so. They took the time this morning to say they’re not doing that.”

However, she expressed disappointment that the PNP is still raising questions over JLP leader Dr Andrew Holness’ win in his St Andrew West Central constituency over PNP candidate Paul Buchanan.

“They, however, have decided that in a seat where the victory was proclaimed with a margin of 2,110 votes, that is the seat of St Andrew West Central, the seat in which Dr Andrew Holness was a successful candidate, that they are contemplating a constitutional motion in respect of that result. They spoke of irregularities but gave no details of their allegations. They’re broadly referencing social media again,” she said.

According to Johnson Smith, neither the Electoral Office of Jamaica nor presiding officers in the constituency had reported any irregularities on election day.

She also explained that the victory secured by Holness was consistent with his past performances in the constituency, where certain polling stations have traditionally returned overwhelming support for the JLP leader.

“The margin of 2,110 votes is similar to the margin that has been reflected in this seat consistently since 2002 and, in fact, in particular, in respect of the Seward Primary polling stations, which were the last ones to come in… Every election, the electors who vote in Seward Primary polling stations vote overwhelmingly in support of their preferred candidate, Andrew Michael Holness, and the PNP in those polling stations generally doesn’t even get 100 votes. It’s not unusual, you see it in constituencies across the whole length and breadth of Jamaica,” she said.

She described the PNP’s move to consider a constitutional challenge in the constituency as “baseless” and “without merit,” warning that it only served to raise doubts about an election that had already been settled.

According to Johnson Smith, this approach not only disrespects the will of the electorate but also reflects poorly on the Opposition’s capacity to govern.

“It is mischievous and, again, demonstrative of a lack of readiness to lead. If they can’t even lead in Opposition, how could they lead in Government when they really cannot take any opportunity to just be big? It’s very disappointing,” she said.