A very reluctant Political Ombudsman, Bishop Herro Blair, yesterday refused to disclose why he has convened another meeting with the leaders of the nation's two main political parties.

The meeting, set for tomorrow, will be the second time since this week thatthe Ombudsman has called People's National Party (PNP) president, Portia Simpson Miller, and Leader of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), Bruce Golding, to his office.

A collective meeting

Speaking with The Gleaner yesterday, Bishop Blair said that on Tuesday he met with the party leaders separately, and is anticipating a collective meeting with the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader at the end of the week.

"All I will say is that the meeting with the political leaders (on Tuesday) was to plan the agenda for a meeting for Friday," he said.

The ombudsman said that following Friday's meeting, he would publicly reveal the details of the discussions.

Yesterday, Mr. Golding said he was optimistic about the talks with Bishop Blair and Mrs. Simpson Miller.

"I am looking forward to the tripartite meeting, hoping that the many issues at hand will be dealt with," he said.

In recent weeks there have been several complaints of breaches of the Political Code of Conduct.

Pre-election tension and violence have also occurred in a number of constituencies.

Last Friday, the Jamaica Council of Churches appealed to the political leaders to demonstrate the highest standard of moral conduct during the period of campaigning. The general election has been set for August 27 with nomination day being August 7. Some political analysts have expressed concerns that the tension could rise over the nearly seven weeks of campaigning that will take place before Jamaicans go to the polls.