Former United States President, Jimmy Carter, said he will be visiting garrison constituencies among other areas to monitor activities during tomorrow's general election.

Stating that the international observers monitoring the elections will be in most of the island's 60 constituencies, Mr. Carter said it was up to Jamaicans to stop political violence and to ensure that the elections are fair.

Mr. Carter heads a 60 person delegation now in the island under the auspices of the Council of the Freely Elected Heads of Government, based at the Carter Centre which he founded in Atlanta. Accompanied by his wife Roslynn, Mr. Carter heads a high powered team which includes former heads of government George Price of Belize, Rodrigo Carazo of Costa Rica, and Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada of Bolivia.

Other members of the watchdog group include world heavyweight boxing champion Rev. Evander Holyfield; former chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff General Colin Powell, whose parents are Jamaican; and Rev. Dr. Joseph Lowery, president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

Mr. Carter said his team "will visit contested areas, including garrison communities, and many other areas". He expressed "some surprise" at being in Jamaica, given the country's "rich and long standing democratic tradition".

The former president noted that the leaders of the three main political parties will approve a Declaration of Political Tolerance this afternoon. "Some might see this symbolic gesture as meaningless, but I don't agree. I believe that messages of peace, particularly those endorsed by people who don't agree with each other, send a critical signal to the people that violence will not be tolerated," he said.