The Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ) issued a statement late on Saturday, seeking to clarify how the Office of Political Ombudsman will operate from within the ECJ.
The ECJ says it has sought to streamline and improve the operations of the Office of Political Ombudsman through the establishment of a dedicated unit within its office.
The Unit is headed by a senior officer, who is the ECJ's Registrar of Political Parties.
It says that person will be the Chief Liaison between the public and the ECJ's members, who, together, constitute the Political Ombudsman.
The ECJ says the Unit is tasked with responsibility for coordinating the activities of the Office of Political Ombudsman, including implementing mechanisms for accepting, processing and responding to complaints from the public.
The ECJ notes that, since the commencement of the current campaign period, only one complaint, in relation to the placement of signs in Montego Bay, has been received by the Office so far, which is being
addressed by the Political Ombudsman.
Questions have been swirling about the operation of the Political Ombudsman, since the stand-along Office was abolished by Parliament a year ago, and its role transferred to the ECJ.
The ECJ now says the function of Political Ombudsman within its organization was activated in February of last year.
The parliamentary opposition and several civil society groups have taken issue with the ECJ taking on the responsibilities of the Political Ombudsman, given that some of its members are political appointees.
With a parliamentary general election due before the end of the year, there had been calls for the reinstatement of an independent office of the political ombudsman, this was followed by a statement from the Justice Minister that an individual was named to the position.
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