THERE is now great uncertainty over the much-anticpated political debates after the ruling People’s National Party (PNP) yesterday indicated that it will not participate in any planned discourse until Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) leader Andrew Holness addresses what the party terms as “disgraceful and direspectful” references about Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller.

The move was widely seen by members of the public, particularly on social media, as an attempt by the ruling party to weasel out of the debates. At the same time, the National Integrity Action (NIA) described the PNP’s action as “backward”.

Yesterday, PNP General Secretary Paul Burke told the Jamaica Debates Commission (JDC) in a letter that the party feels that Holness’s conduct was relevant and critical to its participation in the debates, describing as “irresponsible” his statements regarding the shooting in Sam Sharpe

Square on Sunday night at a JLP rally, which left three people dead. Burke stated further that the party was outraged and disappointed at the Opposition leader’s statements about Simpson Miller.

The PNP also wants the 90-minute leadership debate, which the JDC has proposed for February 20, to be done in the town-hall format used for the Democratic Party presidential candidates in the United States. The JLP, on the other hand, has confirmed that it will accept the JDC’s proposal for the three debates, using the format that was used in 2011.

The proposed date for the other two debates are February 16 and 18, when both sides would field questions about social issues and the economy.

But the JDC says it is not possible to meet the PNP’s demands as it could not get involved in the row between the two political parties, nor does it have enough time and resources to put the systems in to facilitate a town-hall debate.

Speaking at a press conference at the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce Secretariat in downtown Kingston yesterday, deputy chairman of the JDC, Brian Schmidt, made it clear that the JDC “cannot adopt the US Democratic Party’s format for a town-hall debate this time. The US format includes a number of things that are uncommon in this market”.

Schmidt noted, for example, that it would require identifying registered voters who are not members of either political party to ask questions, and that these individuals would have to be selected from specific geographical locations as well as screened for security purposes.

“Also, questions are sequestered for a certain amount of time before the debate to insulate them from what is happening in the public fora. It’s a much more involved process. It is the view of the JDC that this sort of approach and rigour is just not practical in the Jamaican context,” Schmidt stated.

He said this should not prevent those seeking to form the government from participating in the debates.

The debates, he argued, provide the public with information on the plans of the parties, as they answer questions from journalists and members of the public. He noted that the commission had a small window, up to February 21, to conduct the debates, but if necessary it is possible that a debate could be held on February 23, or at least February 24, hours before the election.

He emphasised that the JDC is willing and ready to conduct the debates, but that the possibility exists that they may not happen if the PNP does not agree to the present format. “By nature, a debate requires two different parties, so I don’t think we are prepared to go ahead and have an empty chair debate or anything like that,” Schmidt stated.

“I don’t think the JDC would be prepared to say that, but in negotiating, there are all kinds of twists and turns and we consider this part of that process,” Schmidt said, when asked if the commission feels the Simpson Miller-led PNP was being difficult.

Meanwhile, NIA yesterday insisted that the action of the PNP runs counter to “both best practice and good democracy”.

Executive director of the NIA, Professor Trevor Munroe, said that the concerns over Holness’s statement should not be used as a reason to “deprive the Jamaican people of the opportunity to hear questions and answers regarding plans to “Step Up The Progress” and “The Path from Poverty to Prosperity”.

“The NIA therefore calls on the People’s National Party to reconsider its decision in the national interest, and on the Debate Commission to do all in its power to ensure that the debate does take place and that Jamaica does not retrogress on this important aspect of its electoral democracy,” he stated, adding that the PNP’s concerns “must be dealt with in the appropriate forum, namely, by reports to the Office of the Political Ombudsman and by action through the courts of law”.