The Island's three major political parties will be primarily depending on verbal appeals to their supporters to avoid intimidation and violence in order to ensure the maintenance of peace over the next few days leading up to Election Day.

But while the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the National Democratic Movement (NDM) have not laid down specific measures in the hope that they will achieve the objective, the People's National Party (PNP) has set down a five-point plan which they say will guide their candidates and supporters up to the day of the polls.

Foremost, said Ralston Smith, communications advisor to Prime Minister P. J. Patterson, is that the party leader "hardly speaks without appealing" to supporters and Jamaicans in general for a peaceful election.

He said all the party's candidates were being held to a code of ethics, which they were required to sign some time ago and which specifically required that they do everything to ensure a peaceful election, by, among other things, fully co-operating with the security forces.

Candidates promote peace

Mr. Smith said candidates were also "talking to their supporters about the need for ensuring peace", fully recognising that some of them might carry out unacceptable actions under the guise of doing so on behalf of the party.

The PNP was also reducing the size of its motorcades as much as possible, said Mr. Smith. In addition, the party was constantly sensitising its candidates to the provisions of the new laws under which they can lose their seats if they go marauding from one polling station to another and if they go outside their constituencies on Election Day.

Co-ordinator of the NDM's National Campaign Committee, Dr. D. K. Duncan, said the Movement, both by its constitution and action, had no recourse to violence. As a result, he said, the NDM would stick to its constitution and the principles enunciated since its formation and would co-operate with any action required for the maintenance of peace.

Dr. Duncan said the NDM was also bound by the code of ethics signed between the parties earlier this year and "our workers are advised to stay clear of violence, intimidation and that they should not get upset".

Deputy general secretary of the JLP, Prudence Kidd-Deans, said that although they had no specific measures in place to ensure a peaceful election, they were hoping motorcades could be conducted in a peaceful manner. "We intend to harm no flesh and we will not allow anyone to harm us," said Mrs. Kidd-Deans.

She said they have also appealed to supporters to be jovial in their rivalry and avoid violent actions and so far such appeals have been working.