Ashauni Granville | Jamaica needs a directly elected prime minister

IT HAS been my long-standing belief that this nation ought to take up the mantle inherited from our leaders in the 1950s and 1960s and make Jamaica a republic. Unfortunately, while many of our leaders over the years have talked the talk, very few have walked the walk, whether by introducing legislation or facilitating serious discussions about our future as a republic.

A strong republic is headed by a directly elected leader of government who is also the head of state. The following is a proposal to get Jamaica one step closer to becoming a republic by firstly experimenting with a directly elected head of government, which is currently embodied by the holder of the office of the prime minister.

Let us face the unfortunate truth. Under our current electoral system, we have never collectively chosen or elected our prime minister. As most well-thinking Jamaicans ought to know, the party leader or president with a parliamentary majority is asked by the governor general to become the prime minister and choose a Cabinet, as outlined by the Constitution.

While one can certainly see the functionality that is advanced when the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority is made head of the government, the fact remains that this is an undemocratic system. Leaders, including Gleaner columnist Gordon Robinson, have argued for years that we ought to strengthen our democracy by passing legislation that allows the people to elect a prime minister simultaneously as our members of Parliament. I firmly believe this would be a good move for our country.

Let us accept the fact that a good party leader is not necessarily a good prime minister. The job of a party leader is to win elections and advance the party’s interest. The job of a prime minister is to be the chief executive of our nation, leading and directing a team of policymakers to make decisions that advance national goals and objectives.

On the other hand, a party leader is often a cunning and masterful politician. While similar characteristics are usually required of a prime minister, the responsibilities are much more and have deep implications for our nation. A prime minister who is not sharp enough, knowledgeable enough, decisive enough and thoughtful enough, will make uninformed and unsound decisions that affects the lives of every single citizen.

Would any reasonable citizen knowingly allow a drunk driver to carry them on highways? How, then, can our democracy be all it can be when we do not allow the electorate to decide which person is sober enough to deserve our trust to steer the nation?

BENEFITS OF DIRECT ELECTIoN

First, directly electing a prime minister would strengthen our democracy by moving us a step closer to having true separation of powers between the executive and the legislature. This provides a solid mandate to a leader who is empowered to implement their manifesto as guided by their personal political philosophies.

Under our current system, numerous administrations have boasted that they have a mandate backed by the people. That is not accurate, as the administration usually has nothing more than a simple majority in Parliament.

Second, directly electing a prime minister would re-energise our electoral system and cause a majority of the electorate to participate in our elections once again. The Jamaican people have largely been reluctant to turn out to vote in the last few electoral cycles. If afforded the opportunity to directly elect a prime minister, whether from one of the major political parties or an independent candidate, it is my firm belief that most Jamaicans would be motivated to come out and vote.

Third, directly electing a prime minister is the perfect way for Jamaicans to force almost every vote in Parliament to be a vote of conscience. Under our current system, parliamentary motions and legislation are passed by a simple majority. As a result, legislation is often passed along party lines, even if the vast majority of parliamentarians do not have similar perspectives on socio-economic issues. Thus, bipartisan dialogue is not facilitated.

As such, legislators are often not compelled to give consideration to the arguments made by their opposition counterparts. A directly elected prime minister will be emboldened and empowered to facilitate this bipartisan dialogue. Most importantly, a directly elected prime minister will rally support from both sides of the House to debate and pass key legislation that will more likely have a broad base of support from the vast majority of the population.

Ashauni Granville is a finance professional and former minister of finance in the National Youth Parliament of Jamaica. Email: columns@gleanerjm.com, danielseangranville@gmail.com