KINGSTON, Jamaica, Aug. 29, CMC -The leaders of Jamaica’s two major political parties met on Thursday night for their first head to head clash ahead of the September 3 general elections.
Political observers say the final of three national debates organised by the Jamaica Debates Commission brought together Prime Minister Andrew Holness of the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and Opposition Leader, Mark Golding of the main opposition People’s National Party (PNP) in a fiery exchange of ideas as well as accusations.
At stake is control of the 63-seat Parliament with the PNP seeking to deny the JLP a third consecutive term in office.
The debate kicked off with a question over the ruling party’s alleged pattern of undermining oversight bodies in the public sector and civil society, which Holness denied.
“There’s absolutely no attempt by my administration and indeed, myself, to undermine any oversight body,” he said, adding that his government has instead strengthened such bodies, including the Integrity Commission (IC).
The Opposition Leader, who renounced his British citizenship last year, took the opportunity to show a copy of his birth certificate during his presentation, adding that he also had a copy of the document for Holness.
(Details in Politics section)
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