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Jamaica's new 'election image'
Unique moves for confidence building
Rickey Singh Analysis
Sunday, August 05, 2007
There are two unique features about Jamaica's 2007 general election that coincide with the country's 45th anniversary tomorrow as an independent nation, and with of a more mature Jamaican electorate could be well proud.
Rickey Singh
First was the passage, by consensus last month, of legislation to outlaw the reprehensible, undemocratic practice of "open voting" at polling stations, that is, allowing others to see a marked ballot before it was cast.
It was an aspect of a rotten election culture of intimidation and bribery, prevalent in so-called "garrison constituencies" in previous elections. It was sustained by the 'poli-tricks' of both major contestants for state power, the People's National Party (PNP) and the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).
For the coming August 27 poll, the incumbent PNP and its rival for power, JLP, have finally embraced the need to terminate this illegal practice with much due credit going also to Director of Elections, Danville Walker, who has sternly set his face against any 'hanky-panky' attempts to undermine the secrecy of the ballot and, generally, the integrity of the electoral process.
Walker's stature has grown with his recurring involvement over the years in arrangements for free and fair elections in other Caricom states, and it is to Jamaica's good fortune to have him where he is at this time. Open voting has never been a permissible feature of elections in other Caricom states.
Campaign moratorium
The second unique feature for election 07 is the decision, again by consensus, on the part of the PNP and JLP, to embrace a call by Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller for a six-day moratorium on election campaigning.
The intention, as I understand it, is to allow for a period of reflection that could inspire positive social relations and shun bad political habits that result in physical conflicts and other negative occurrences.
The expectation, therefore, is that from Wednesday, August 1 (Emancipation Day) to tomorrow, August 6 (Independence Day), there would be none of the traditional modes of electioneering, such as motorcades, rallies, confrontational meetings or activities that could generate tension and conflict.
Not only would the contesting parties for power be anxious to evaluate the positive rating of the six-day moratorium, but the electorate and Jamaican people as a whole.
Caricom's interest
The experiment could provide a learning curve for the rest of Caricom with member states seeking to ascertain how they could adapt this moratorium feature in Jamaican electoral politics to their own national elections.
With the enactment of legislation to criminalise open voting, the Daily Nation of Barbados in commending the initiative last month for its contribution to strengthening electoral democracy, had made a significant observation. The end result of that initiative, said the newspaper, would be to the benefit of a Jamaica where "there is already the functioning institution of a political ombudsman (in the person of Bishop Herro Blair) that has acquired a robust reputation for even-handedness in dealing with the competitors for state power..."
It may be too idealistic to expect that the primary players in criminal violence who have contributed to Jamaica's unflattering image as a major centre of murders and trafficking in drugs and guns would use the six-day moratorium to suspend their own agendas in criminality. But pleasant surprises do come from strange quarters.
Taken together, the initiatives that have resulted in abolishing open voting; creating a six-day moratorium on election campaigning; and the evident strengthening of the influence of the political ombudsman to impartially deal with threatening political posturings and activities, have combined to place Jamaica on a comparative moral high ground for Election 07, and away from a sickening tradition of expected political violence and fraudulent voting practices.
International election observers will be joining with local monitors for the August 27 poll. The Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ) has committed itself to ensuring a free and fair election across the country at some 6,232 polling centres.
The opinion polls continue to place Prime Minister Simpson-Miller ahead in personal popularity to the JLP's leader Bruce Golding as well as giving her PNP also a marginal lead varying between three to five per cent points.
These suggest that for all the confidence being roaringly expressed by both combatants, the race for state power still remains close in a very long seven- week campaign.
Portia, the famed political "road runner", has skilfully moved the goal post from the PNP seeking an unprecedented consecutive fifth term in office, to one focused on the first effort of a woman to be elected, with a mandate of her own, to head a new government.
It so happens that the JLPs' Bruce, the politician to finally displace the crafty Edward Seaga as party leader, is also a first-time seeker for an electoral mandate to become prime minister.
"Sister P" and her fierce challenger have exactly three weeks, after tomorrow's independence anniversary celebrations and end of the six-day moratorium on election campaigning, to decisively settle the debate on who better deserves the electorate's verdict to be Jamaica's new prime minister.
Unique moves for confidence building
Rickey Singh Analysis
Sunday, August 05, 2007
There are two unique features about Jamaica's 2007 general election that coincide with the country's 45th anniversary tomorrow as an independent nation, and with of a more mature Jamaican electorate could be well proud.
Rickey SinghFirst was the passage, by consensus last month, of legislation to outlaw the reprehensible, undemocratic practice of "open voting" at polling stations, that is, allowing others to see a marked ballot before it was cast.
It was an aspect of a rotten election culture of intimidation and bribery, prevalent in so-called "garrison constituencies" in previous elections. It was sustained by the 'poli-tricks' of both major contestants for state power, the People's National Party (PNP) and the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).
For the coming August 27 poll, the incumbent PNP and its rival for power, JLP, have finally embraced the need to terminate this illegal practice with much due credit going also to Director of Elections, Danville Walker, who has sternly set his face against any 'hanky-panky' attempts to undermine the secrecy of the ballot and, generally, the integrity of the electoral process.
Walker's stature has grown with his recurring involvement over the years in arrangements for free and fair elections in other Caricom states, and it is to Jamaica's good fortune to have him where he is at this time. Open voting has never been a permissible feature of elections in other Caricom states.
Campaign moratorium
The second unique feature for election 07 is the decision, again by consensus, on the part of the PNP and JLP, to embrace a call by Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller for a six-day moratorium on election campaigning.
The intention, as I understand it, is to allow for a period of reflection that could inspire positive social relations and shun bad political habits that result in physical conflicts and other negative occurrences.
The expectation, therefore, is that from Wednesday, August 1 (Emancipation Day) to tomorrow, August 6 (Independence Day), there would be none of the traditional modes of electioneering, such as motorcades, rallies, confrontational meetings or activities that could generate tension and conflict.
Not only would the contesting parties for power be anxious to evaluate the positive rating of the six-day moratorium, but the electorate and Jamaican people as a whole.
Caricom's interest
The experiment could provide a learning curve for the rest of Caricom with member states seeking to ascertain how they could adapt this moratorium feature in Jamaican electoral politics to their own national elections.
With the enactment of legislation to criminalise open voting, the Daily Nation of Barbados in commending the initiative last month for its contribution to strengthening electoral democracy, had made a significant observation. The end result of that initiative, said the newspaper, would be to the benefit of a Jamaica where "there is already the functioning institution of a political ombudsman (in the person of Bishop Herro Blair) that has acquired a robust reputation for even-handedness in dealing with the competitors for state power..."
It may be too idealistic to expect that the primary players in criminal violence who have contributed to Jamaica's unflattering image as a major centre of murders and trafficking in drugs and guns would use the six-day moratorium to suspend their own agendas in criminality. But pleasant surprises do come from strange quarters.
Taken together, the initiatives that have resulted in abolishing open voting; creating a six-day moratorium on election campaigning; and the evident strengthening of the influence of the political ombudsman to impartially deal with threatening political posturings and activities, have combined to place Jamaica on a comparative moral high ground for Election 07, and away from a sickening tradition of expected political violence and fraudulent voting practices.
International election observers will be joining with local monitors for the August 27 poll. The Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ) has committed itself to ensuring a free and fair election across the country at some 6,232 polling centres.
The opinion polls continue to place Prime Minister Simpson-Miller ahead in personal popularity to the JLP's leader Bruce Golding as well as giving her PNP also a marginal lead varying between three to five per cent points.
These suggest that for all the confidence being roaringly expressed by both combatants, the race for state power still remains close in a very long seven- week campaign.
Portia, the famed political "road runner", has skilfully moved the goal post from the PNP seeking an unprecedented consecutive fifth term in office, to one focused on the first effort of a woman to be elected, with a mandate of her own, to head a new government.
It so happens that the JLPs' Bruce, the politician to finally displace the crafty Edward Seaga as party leader, is also a first-time seeker for an electoral mandate to become prime minister.
"Sister P" and her fierce challenger have exactly three weeks, after tomorrow's independence anniversary celebrations and end of the six-day moratorium on election campaigning, to decisively settle the debate on who better deserves the electorate's verdict to be Jamaica's new prime minister.