SCLC President to Visit Jamaica for Pre-Election Assessment Dec. 9-10

ATLANTA, GA.... The Carter Center's Council of Freely Elected Heads of Government will send a third pre-election mission to Jamaica Dec. 9-10. The Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery, president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), and a long-time associate of the late Martin Luther King, Jr., will lead that team, which includes Dr. Robert Pastor, director of the Center's Latin American and Caribbean Program, and Mr. Jason Carter, grandson of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.

"The success of Jamaican democracy means a great deal to me and to many Americans," said Dr. Lowery. "We hope that our presence will encourage a peaceful and calm election - one that will be free from fear, intimidation, and violence."

Dr. Lowery is a founder of the SCLC and served as vice president from 1957 until 1967, when he was nominated by Dr. King to be chairman of the National Board of Directors. The winner of many honors and awards for his work on behalf of non-violent change, Dr. Lowery also chairs the National Black Leadership Forum. He received the Martin Luther King, Jr. Nonviolent Peace Prize awarded by the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, in 1990 and was the first recipient of Boston University's Martin Luther King Award for Freedom in 1992.

Mr. Carter is a 1997 graduate of Duke University and will be a Peace Corps volunteer in South Africa in 1998. He participated in international election observer missions to the West Bank and Gaza in 1996 and Liberia in 1997. Dr. Pastor is professor of political science at Emory University. As director of the Carter Center's Latin American and Caribbean Program, he is organizing the international delegation that will observe the Jamaican elections on Dec. 18. This is his third pre-election mission since September.

The Dec. 9-10 pre-election assessment mission has four purposes:

Second, the team was invited by Mr. Danville Walker, director of the Office of Elections, to attend a meeting between him and leaders of the three major parties to discuss ways to ensure that everyone on the final registration list will know where to vote on Dec. 18 and to discuss remaining concerns with the list.
Third, the team will meet with the police commissioner, a representative of the Jamaica Defense Force, the ombudsman for political matters, election officials, and leaders from CAFFE to coordinate observers' coverage of polling centers on election day.
And finally, the team will deliver a preliminary list of the leaders and members of its election delegation to EAC Chairman William Chin-See and Mr. Walker.

"Because it is important to create a peaceful climate for the elections," said Dr. Pastor, "we are honored that our third pre-election team will be led by Rev. Joseph Lowery, a giant in the non-violent civil rights struggle in the United States. We also hope Jamaicans will be reassured by the outstanding quality of our election delegation and encouraged to vote peacefully. It reflects deep international support for peace and democracy in Jamaica."

The Carter Center has maintained an office in Kingston since Nov. 21, directed by Mr. Andrew Lilienthal, to prepare for the election mission and to observe the electoral process.

EDITOR'S NOTE:
PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES: SIGNING OF THE DECLARATION OF POLITICAL TOLERANCE

Tuesday, Dec. 9:
2 p.m. Spanish Town Cathedral, Red Church St., Spanish TownBruce Golding, NDM; Babsy Grainge, JLP; Hugh Perrin, PNP.
3:30 p.m. Central Kingston, E. Queen St. Baptist ChurchRonald Thwaites, PNP; Marcia Davis, JLP; C. Ganga Singh, NDM.
Wednesday, Dec. 10:
8:30 a.m. Barbican Baptist Church, 106 Barbican RoadDouglas Vaz, NDM; Delroy Chuck, JLP; Karlene Kirlew-Robertson, PNP
10 a.m. St. Jude's Anglican Church, Rectory RoadNeal Seaton, JLP; Lewis Joseph, NDM; Vernon Robinson, PNP.
PRESS LUNCHEON, Wednesday, Dec. 10: The pre-election delegation will release the observer delegation list to media and answer questions about the delegation and their mission during a press conference on Wednesday, Dec. 10, at 11:15 a.m. at the Wyndham Park Hotel in Kingston. Press identification required. Call 876-906-8290 to R.S.V.P.