THE stark reality that now overshadows the election campaign is that 46 murders have been committed over a 13-day period leading up to and since Nomination Day. And the police can't say how many of these killings are politically motivated.

Some observers feel that the soaring murder rate is less from politics and more from the evil forces behind the gun and drug trafficking, aiming to destabilise the society to make this a drug haven.

As an important move towards maintaining peace, the leaders of the PNP and JLP yesterday issued a statement condemning the violence and commending private and public entities working in constituencies in aid of the peace process.

They agreed that, as political leaders and candidates, all need to ensure that utterances are calm and reassuring, not emotive, strident or threatening.

"We as leaders need to stress that we denounce any activity not conducive to peace and unity. We are once again appealing for a peaceful election campaign." the leaders said.

This is the second joint statement in a week, as on Thursday, Mr. Patterson and Mr. Seaga committed to removing violence from the remainder of the campaign.

If the drug plot is real there is grave danger ahead; equally so, if the violence is indeed fomented from politics and the leaders' move towards peace is ignored by their supporters. Either way, this nation must be on guard against a pyrrhic victory at the polls.