Tweet
Jamaica — one vote, one family, one love
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
The public opinion polls indicate that tomorrow, Election Day, as customary, the Jamaican nation will be split into three groups: those who support the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), those who will vote for the People's National Party (PNP), and those who are undecided.
We have no doubt that all three groups are patriotic, and want peace, prosperity and the best of everything for Jamaica. The JLP and PNP supporters genuinely believe that if their preferred political party is elected to form the next government that this will give Jamaica the best chance to achieve the peaceful economic development that all Jamaicans want.
Let us never forget that whether we are PNP, JLP or uncommitted to any political party we are all, first and foremost, Jamaicans, all one family — the Jamaican Family.
We must tolerate the political difference among us and respect the rights of others to hold any political persuasion and to advocate the philosophy and opinions of any political party or any party leader. We must respect the right of others to advocate and campaign for any political party and not interfere in any way with their conduct.
Equally, we must exercise tolerance for those who are undecided or who choose not to vote. That is their right and we must respect it. We can, however, try to convince them that not voting is sacrificing the ability to help decide the path of governance for the country. We can make every effort to educate those who say they are not going to vote to exercise this important constitutional right by providing pertinent information about the past, present and proposed policies of the contesting parties.
We must refrain from forcible conversion of the uncommitted and offer no inducements, financial or otherwise. Let there be argument, let there be debate but let there be peace and the respect for the rights of others to disagree and to hold any position.
We urge our fellow countrymen to go about your business peacefully on Election Day, whether it is to vote or not. Employers must remember that all citizens are allowed, by law, three hours to exercise their franchise.
It is the responsibility of every citizen to supplement the work of the election officials, security forces and election observers by reporting any irregularities or suspicious behaviour to the properly constituted authorities. This will ensure that Jamaica maintains its tradition of free and fair elections, which is critically important for governance, particularly if the margin of victory for the winning party is small.
It must be clear that there is no question of the legitimacy of the result and the entitlement of the winning party to form the new Government, which will need to have the confidence to tackle the very difficult problems which beset our country. Most important is that on the day after the General Election, and going forward from that day, we put aside personal and political differences.
The losing party leader must reflect the maturity of our politics and concede graciously, with no repeat of the 2007 behaviour and threat of "nightmare", which we hope that Mrs Portia Simpson Miller has by now regretted.
Let us be truly worthy of Mr Bob Marley's song of the century: One Love
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/edito...#ixzz1hs3qPAE4
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
The public opinion polls indicate that tomorrow, Election Day, as customary, the Jamaican nation will be split into three groups: those who support the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), those who will vote for the People's National Party (PNP), and those who are undecided.
We have no doubt that all three groups are patriotic, and want peace, prosperity and the best of everything for Jamaica. The JLP and PNP supporters genuinely believe that if their preferred political party is elected to form the next government that this will give Jamaica the best chance to achieve the peaceful economic development that all Jamaicans want.
Let us never forget that whether we are PNP, JLP or uncommitted to any political party we are all, first and foremost, Jamaicans, all one family — the Jamaican Family.
We must tolerate the political difference among us and respect the rights of others to hold any political persuasion and to advocate the philosophy and opinions of any political party or any party leader. We must respect the right of others to advocate and campaign for any political party and not interfere in any way with their conduct.
Equally, we must exercise tolerance for those who are undecided or who choose not to vote. That is their right and we must respect it. We can, however, try to convince them that not voting is sacrificing the ability to help decide the path of governance for the country. We can make every effort to educate those who say they are not going to vote to exercise this important constitutional right by providing pertinent information about the past, present and proposed policies of the contesting parties.
We must refrain from forcible conversion of the uncommitted and offer no inducements, financial or otherwise. Let there be argument, let there be debate but let there be peace and the respect for the rights of others to disagree and to hold any position.
We urge our fellow countrymen to go about your business peacefully on Election Day, whether it is to vote or not. Employers must remember that all citizens are allowed, by law, three hours to exercise their franchise.
It is the responsibility of every citizen to supplement the work of the election officials, security forces and election observers by reporting any irregularities or suspicious behaviour to the properly constituted authorities. This will ensure that Jamaica maintains its tradition of free and fair elections, which is critically important for governance, particularly if the margin of victory for the winning party is small.
It must be clear that there is no question of the legitimacy of the result and the entitlement of the winning party to form the new Government, which will need to have the confidence to tackle the very difficult problems which beset our country. Most important is that on the day after the General Election, and going forward from that day, we put aside personal and political differences.
The losing party leader must reflect the maturity of our politics and concede graciously, with no repeat of the 2007 behaviour and threat of "nightmare", which we hope that Mrs Portia Simpson Miller has by now regretted.
Let us be truly worthy of Mr Bob Marley's song of the century: One Love
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/edito...#ixzz1hs3qPAE4