Carolyn Cooper | Can Mark Golding raise the dead?

Constituency meetings can be a death trap. Politicians are often caught off guard. Surrounded by a crowd of faithful followers, they get carried away and chat a lot of dangerous foolishness. Spontaneous ejaculation can, most certainly, have deadly consequences. Politicians must learn to stay on script. They need to be aware of the fact that their words will always be taken literally. Especially by their opponents who are eager to score political points.

Take, for instance, Mark Golding’s inflammatory statement at a constituency conference last Sunday: “. . . if they’re still alive, dem ha fi go vote fi Comrade Patrick Peterkin when the election call. And even some who not alive,” He pauses as a woman shouts out, “Go in there an wake dem up!” Golding continues, “If dem can deal wid it, no problem.” What could this possibly mean? Who is “dem”? The dead? And what is the “it” that “dem” must “deal wid”? Voting?

Then, there’s that “If?” It’s a conjunction – a part of speech joining two statements. It usually introduces a supposition, which is defined by Oxford Languages as, “a belief held without proof or certain knowledge; an assumption or hypothesis.” Taking Golding’s words literally, it seems as if he was saying that he doesn’t know if the dead can deal with voting. But if they can, it’s no problem. That’s exactly the problem. No self-respecting politician can advocate that dead people vote. It’s election fraud, plain and simple.

“OFF THE CUFF”

At first, the People’s National Party (PNP) attempted to pass off Golding’s outrageous remark in this way: “Without context, the portion of the speech which is in the public domain has been misconstrued as literal when it was, in fact, intended as humour and was purely figurative in nature.” There is no context that can justify Golding’s error of judgment. Election fraud is no laughing matter. Especially given the nasty history of voting irregularity in this country.

Golding was forced to withdraw his controversial statement at a press conference last Wednesday. But he still insisted that it was meant to be humorous: “On Sunday, at the constituency conference for East Rural St Andrew, I made some remarks which were really off the cuff and were a response to some banter in the crowd. The remarks were intended to be humorous, and were not intended to be taken seriously.” Speaking “off the cuff” is really not an acceptable defence.

Golding continued: “I realise, however, that some people have interpreted those remarks as a serious statement of my position on the matter. That is not the case and I unreservedly withdraw and retract those remarks.” It’s not just “some people”. Is whole heap of us. Golding added, “I am fully committed to Jamaica having a free and fair electoral system so that our democratic elections are conducted to the highest standards of fairness. I’m fully committed to the elimination of all forms of electoral man malpractice and therefore I have no hesitation in withdrawing those remarks, which, as I’ve said, were not intended to be taken seriously, and I, but, apparently, have been taken seriously in some quarters.” And rightly so!

TREACHEROUS PATH

Instead of wandering down the treacherous path of apparent election fraud, Golding should have stuck to the high road. His appeal to PNP stalwarts of the past was entirely legitimate: “We ha fi mek sure seh every Comrade who voted fi the People’s National Party in 2011 and delivered the victory, if they’re still alive, dem ha fi go vote fi Comrade Patrick Peterkin when the election call.”

Mark Golding knows that many Jamaicans who used to exercise their right to vote have now given up on politics. They have absolutely no confidence in the political system. Don Anderson, Jamaica’s premier political pollster, gave alarming proof of this in an article headlined, “Is Jamaican democracy at risk?,” published in The Gleaner in March 2023:

“Voter turnout has shown significant decline since the election of 1989. Prior to that election voter turnout averaged a healthy 82 per cent per election up to the election of 1980. The 1983 election was boycotted by the PNP and in the next election of 1989, 78 per cent turned out to vote.

“Between 1992 and 2020, the average voter turnout was 56 per cent, with an all-time low of 38 per cent in 2020.”

LIVING DEAD

Mark Golding should now be trying his best to resurrect all of those potential voters who are very much alive and well. But they are dead to politics. These are the living dead who must be encouraged to vote. They need to be awakened from their grave of apathy. To think of the days when poor black people in this country could not vote! And now that we can, many of us can’t be bothered.

There are signs that the tide might be turning. Recently, I was told by a man in his forties, “Is long time me stop vote. But this time, mi ha fi vote fi get rid a Anju.” There must be slumbering Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) supporters who will wake up and vote to keep Anju. The ultimate winner in national elections is not the party that gets the most seats. It’s democracy.

Will Golding listen to that woman at the constituency conference who advised him to, “Go in there and wake dem up!” Can he deal wid it? Can he raise the living dead and motivate them to vote? Can Golding inspire the Jamaican electorate to take the PNP seriously as a viable alternative to the JLP? Last month’s Don Anderson poll appears to confirm that he can.

n Carolyn Cooper, PhD, is a teacher of English language and literature and a specialist on culture and development. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and karokupa@gmail.com