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EDITORIAL - The general election in retrospect
published: Monday | September 17, 2007
The infrastructure of the new JLP administration is taking shape with the formalities of Prime Minister Golding's inauguration and swearing-in of his 18-member Cabinet taking pride of place last week. In due time, the State Opening of the Parliament will signal the start of a new chapter in the Legislature, the centrepiece of the two-party political system still intact after the nation's 15th general election.
We think it is useful to look back at some aspects of the election which have passed good muster with international observers; but which, from the local perspective, should get more critical assessment since we are more familiar with the darker chapters of our political history.
From that viewpoint, it is a truism to say that most Jamaicans anticipate national elections with some apprehension. That is why the nation has had to devise a Peace Management Initiative, a Political Ombudsman, a Political Code of Conduct, and, most critically, come to terms with what has come to be known as the garrison constituency.
The critical criterion by which elections have been assessed is the level of political violence and the toll of killings. Because of the persistent high level of killings associated with a high crime rate, the authorities are not able to state definitively which killings were politically motivated during the election period.
Thus, while several acts of political violence and intimidation occurred in communities islandwide during August, some nine fatalities were alleged by both major parties to have resulted from politics.
While that number is a far cry from the hundreds killed in the period leading up to the 1980 election, the fact that anyone had to die because of politics is still regrettable. Most of the violence this time has been verbal, the sometimes harsh and tasteless language on campaign platforms, and the sometimes clever out-of-context offerings in television advertising.
Some of the latter had the redeeming quality of being entertaining, except perhaps for the political targets at which they aimed. It might be useful if media managers or the Broadcasting Commission offered some constructive criticism on this aspect of election advertising.
Most observers have hailed the televised series of national debates between spokesmen from both major parties. With some adjustments in format and an earlier publication of party manifestos to lend substance to the debates, there would be much more public benefit in terms of educating the electorate on the issues.
We look forward to national debates continuing in the new Parliament still awaiting the organisation of the legislature as the PNP Opposition comes to terms with its new role in Gordon House.
The air of uncertainty arising from legal challenges about dual citizenship and magisterial recounts on some seats with close margins is still to be cleared up. The citizenship matter points to the need for a stronger push toward constitutional reform.
The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published.
published: Monday | September 17, 2007
The infrastructure of the new JLP administration is taking shape with the formalities of Prime Minister Golding's inauguration and swearing-in of his 18-member Cabinet taking pride of place last week. In due time, the State Opening of the Parliament will signal the start of a new chapter in the Legislature, the centrepiece of the two-party political system still intact after the nation's 15th general election.
We think it is useful to look back at some aspects of the election which have passed good muster with international observers; but which, from the local perspective, should get more critical assessment since we are more familiar with the darker chapters of our political history.
From that viewpoint, it is a truism to say that most Jamaicans anticipate national elections with some apprehension. That is why the nation has had to devise a Peace Management Initiative, a Political Ombudsman, a Political Code of Conduct, and, most critically, come to terms with what has come to be known as the garrison constituency.
The critical criterion by which elections have been assessed is the level of political violence and the toll of killings. Because of the persistent high level of killings associated with a high crime rate, the authorities are not able to state definitively which killings were politically motivated during the election period.
Thus, while several acts of political violence and intimidation occurred in communities islandwide during August, some nine fatalities were alleged by both major parties to have resulted from politics.
While that number is a far cry from the hundreds killed in the period leading up to the 1980 election, the fact that anyone had to die because of politics is still regrettable. Most of the violence this time has been verbal, the sometimes harsh and tasteless language on campaign platforms, and the sometimes clever out-of-context offerings in television advertising.
Some of the latter had the redeeming quality of being entertaining, except perhaps for the political targets at which they aimed. It might be useful if media managers or the Broadcasting Commission offered some constructive criticism on this aspect of election advertising.
Most observers have hailed the televised series of national debates between spokesmen from both major parties. With some adjustments in format and an earlier publication of party manifestos to lend substance to the debates, there would be much more public benefit in terms of educating the electorate on the issues.
We look forward to national debates continuing in the new Parliament still awaiting the organisation of the legislature as the PNP Opposition comes to terms with its new role in Gordon House.
The air of uncertainty arising from legal challenges about dual citizenship and magisterial recounts on some seats with close margins is still to be cleared up. The citizenship matter points to the need for a stronger push toward constitutional reform.
The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published.