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A GoFundMe account has been created to raise funds for the election campaign of Senator Damion Crawford, the People's National Party candidate for the upcoming by-election in East Portland.

The account was started by 'friends of Crawford', and they are seeking to raise US$10,000 (approximately J$1.3 million) towards his election campaign.

Within four hours after it was launched, it raised more than US$1,240 (J$161,418) of that amount.

Crawford, who said he was made aware of account before it was launched, told THE STAR that it has his full support. He said that the money raised would be used to cover the immediate cost of his campaign.

"I was informed that it would be launched, and I fully endorsed it. The money will be used to do billboards to help with name and face recognition, and to cover the cost of refreshment for individuals, and T-shirts," he said.

For the by-election, Crawford will be going up against the Jamaica Labour Party's (JLP) Ann-Marie Vaz, the wife of the sitting MP for West Portland, Daryl Vaz.

crowdfunding not new

The by-election comes following the death of Dr Lynvale Bloomfield, who was the MP for East Portland.

Meanwhile, Crawford, who represented East Rural St Andrew between 2012 and 2016, said that crowdfunding for election campaigns is not new, and pointed to US politicians Barack Obama and Bernie Saunders as examples.

He argues that the creation of a GoFundMe account will allow even more people to participate in the election process.

"Elections are always funded by individuals, and the current situation in Jamaica is that it's only funded by rich individuals, the few rich individuals who then have influence over Government. There's nothing that disqualifies election to be funded by a lot of individuals who give a little contribution," he said.

He pointed out that he expects to spend up to $15 million on this by-election, and that his party is also in the process of raising funds.