Donna Parchment Brown | International Democracy Day 2022

The United Nations’ commemoration of September 15, 2022 as International Democracy Day calls for us to ‘uphold and promote the principles of democracy’.

Jamaica is now taking democracy for granted. Like the old slippers at the back door that protects from stones, macka and mud if we need to go outside. Once it was a lovely pair of beautiful, leather church shoes that we were proud to own, polish and wear with pride. Over time, its utility and beauty attacked by the elements, it became so familiar, it lost our attention.

As Jamaica celebrates its diamond jubilee and the Political Ombudsman Commission of Jamaica its 20th anniversary, it is a time for reflection, reset and recommitment.

International Democracy Day was first observed in 2008 following a United Nations’ resolution by Qatar which was adopted by the United Nations’ General Assembly. It calls for governments to promote or consolidate new or restored democracy.

The Political Ombudsman Commission, working with other public sector, NGO and private sector organisations and several other entities, sometimes in partnership with international bodies such as the Kettering Foundation of Dayton, Ohio, International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), based in Washington, DC, the Canadian High Commission, USAID and the UN system, made the support for democracy a priority and core value.

Jamaica’s democracy is still young. Universal Adult Suffrage or the right to vote was only accorded by law to all Jamaicans over 21 years of age in 1944. A critical emblem of democracy is tied to principles of:

1. Political Freedom

2. Electoral Integrity

3. Good Governance

4. Rule of Law

Why should these four ideas and principles matter to every Jamaican and to citizens around the globe where more than 50 per cent of the world’s population of seven billion do not live in democracies and have little or no voice in decision-making? Human rights, equality, empowerment, freedom of the body and mind are of inestimable value to us as citizens so we must have power over them.

Political freedom allows us to form and join organisations and be candidates to be elected to serve in the highest offices in the land. We engage with other persons to determine whether they will trust certain individuals or groups with power within parameters or laws to govern and such exercise of power.

Electoral integrity is a critical companion as it allows the public to have knowledge of their role and trust the machinery of decision-making. This also requires good campaign standards and for orderly changes to suit the public and preserve ‘one person, one vote’.

Good governance demands that we are governed within the principles and philosophy of the equality and primacy of the electors and citizens. Good governance for us is encapsulated in Vision 2030 Jamaica, National Development Plan Statement “Jamaica, the place of choice to live, work, raise families and do business”. A product of a consultative planning process, it directs those who govern and all of us to be guided in our decision-making actions by that inclusive, respectful, people-centred vision. This requires a free, neutral and robust media to keep the public engaged and informed.

Rule of law is a simple yet profound concept. We are all equal and subject to the same known rules and principles. There is a guard against arbitrariness in government and by the powerful. It enfolds the concept of accountability and its companion, transparency.

Jamaica has institutions such as the Political Ombudsman, the Integrity Commission and the Electoral Commission of Jamaica, mandated to promote and protect democracy. These institutions must be themselves empowered, protected and constantly renewed to ensure that democracy remains as the form of government in Jamaica and citizens reap the dividend or fruits of democracy.

International Democracy Day reminds us to develop our democracy with the ideas of political freedom, electoral integrity, good governance and the rule of law. We can enhance this by practising the same principles in the home, at church, at school, at work and in our social interactions, marked by respect, equality and problem-solving.

Good civic knowledge is needed as it leads to the civic life that is the lifeblood of democracy.

The old shoes by the back door have served us well. Let us renew, repair and if we replace, let it be a stronger, better version built on tested principles and values.

The Political Ombudsman Commission commemorates International Democracy Day in Jamaica and with our friends in the UN around the globe, even as democracy is under threat. Let us do our part.

Donna Parchment Brown CD, JP, is Jamaica’s political ombudsman. Please send feedback to columns @gleanerjm.com