Vote buying, bribing must stop
Published:Saturday | July 1, 2023 | 12:11 AM
THE EDITOR, Madam:
Under the leadership and watch of former chairman of the Electoral Commission of Jamaica, Professor Errol Miller, and also former Director of Elections Danville Walker, the fairness, professionalism and efficacy of Jamaica’s general elections took a paradigmatic shift into the right direction and thankfully has remained that way. Prior to the respective tenures of the aforementioned gentlemen, ballot box stuffing, the stealing of ballot boxes, and threats at poll stations were common.
However, what has not changed and perhaps will never change is the devious, deliberate and despicable acts of vote-buying and vote-bribing. Politicians on both sides of the fence have been guilty of this for many decades. Vote-buying and/or vote-bribing are unfair, undemocratic and unlawful, but unfortunately have become traditional and pervasive in Jamaica.
The power to stop this shameful cheating practice and ploy lies ultimately in the hands of the electorate. If and when on the campaign trail in the lead-up to a general election, T-shirts containing money are gifted to members of the public, or any other gifts are offered to them, by any other means particularly in non-garrison constituencies, constituents should reject such gifts/offers. Unless this is done vote-buying and/or vote-bribing will not stop.
Elections must be untainted and uninfluenced by such outside forces, if they are to exemplify the motto of being ‘free, fair, and free from fear’.
PATRICK GALLIMORE