Kingston, Jamaica. August 29, 2020. More than 20 questions exploring more than a dozen topical issues were on Saturday evening put to the leaders of the Jamaica Labour Party, JLP, Andrew Holness and the People’s National Party, Dr. Peter Phillips in the third and final debate of the 2020 General Election series organized by the Jamaica Debates Commission, JDC in Kingston Jamaica.

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) was a central focal point in the debate, featuring in a significant number of questions and answers. In fact, both leaders at the end of the debate, at the invitation of the JDC spoke to the nation about it.

The leaders were at one in calling on Jamaicans to be responsible and take the recommended public health precautions on election day and always to help the country beat the pandemic.

Issues on COVID-19 featured from both questioners, Dionne Jackson Miller of the RJR Gleaner Communications Group and George Davis the President of the Press Association of Jamaica. There were also questions raised on the past and future use of States of Emergency (SOEs) education, accountability in government, climate change matters of the economy, the constitution, a digital economy, crime and violence, reform of the police force and even approaches to stemming brain drain for the country.

There were 19 direct questions, three follow up questions and two questions, asked one each of their opponent.

Moderator Dervan Malcolm of Power 106 Radio was tested in keeping the debaters to time, in spite of them having a visible digital clock on which they would have seen that they over-shot their time by significant levels on some occasions.

The debate, like the two others earlier in the week was live on more than ten radio and television stations in Jamaica as well as via cable in 18 Caribbean countries and also on cable in the Tri-States of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut in the United States of America. It was also available on the JDC’s website and YouTube channel.

The Jamaica Debates Commission is a partnership of the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce and Media Association Jamaica.

Sponsors for the 2020 JDC series of debates were: Scotiabank, FLOW, Proven, the University of the West Indies, D&G Foundation, National Commercial Bank, Panjam, Digicel, Jamaica National, the Victoria Mutual Building Society and the National Democratic Institute