The Soothsayer | Reinstate the Office of the Political Ombudsman, NOW!

Since the effective dissolution of the Office of the Political Ombudsman (OPO), the prevalence of harmful, derogatory rhetoric by political representatives across the spectrum has significantly increased. While there is no way to quantify the level of increase, the fact that it galvanised former Prime Minister PJ Patterson, among other stakeholders, to chide our public officials, means that it is generally perceived that the frequency of these vacuous remarks has escalated.

This is not surprising as, within the course of two months, we have seen what the Integrity Commission described as a sustained and coordinated assault against its members. The public has also witnessed a political leader attempting to resurrect the dead, a human rights attorney broadcast his fetish on social media and a political representative making insinuations that a Cabinet minister is involved in criminality. Likewise, we have also witnessed said minister in kind throwing down the gauntlet and launching a defamation suit to protect his reputation. Surely, the intensity of this modern soap opera is alarming.

Bureaucratic Delays

The argument that has been made to justify the office’s dissolution is that its functions can be subsumed under the Electoral Commission of Jamaica. However, this has not proven forthcoming with Justice Minister Delroy Chuck noting that the reason for the delay can be attributed to bureaucratic hurdles.

There are multiple examples of legislation going through the express lane in Parliament to be passed. One must now wonder if the only bills that experience this treatment are those that protect the executive from further embarrassment, whether in the courts or otherwise.

With Prime Minister Andrew Holness stating his intention of calling local government elections before the February 2024 deadline and Parliament currently being on recess, there is simply no guarantee that these “bureaucratic delays” will be addressed before the election is held. There are no incentives to use the Parliament express lane in this instance. Even if the legislation was to prove forthcoming, there is no guarantee that the powers of the office will not be further curtailed, thus rendering it an ineffective rump.

While the argument can be made that the former Office of the Political Ombudsman was largely a “paper tiger” given its inability to sanction lawmakers, I would contend that the symbolic importance of the office matters. Since its dissolution last year, multiple entities have tried and failed to call out representatives for their careless remarks. Efforts made by the Integrity Commission to have their Leadership Code of Conduct signed have largely been rebuffed by representatives of the ruling party.

A mummer’s farce

Across the aisle the Opposition slammed the PSOJ head, Metry Seaga, after he called for Mark Golding to apologise to Jamaican women based on vile comments made by the party’s former Human Rights Commission chairperson. Any illusion that politicians can regulate themselves is simply a mummer’s farce.

The truth is that, unless you have a dedicated office with the mandate to carry out this role, then it would be extremely difficult for any group to achieve this goal. Previously, leaders from both political parties signed the OPO’s Code of Conduct. Not only did the OPO achieve this goal, but representatives from both parties have attended mediation with the office holder. The ability of this individual to achieve this goal is largely because, across the aisle, there was a recognition that the pressure cooker of political rhetoric needed to be dialled down.

And yes, some would say that a gentleman’s agreement between leaders failed to rein in more extreme members of the parties’ caucuses hellbent on declaring a war with words. Nevertheless, these were more isolated remarks from fringe members of the party. Now, fringe comments are becoming more mainstream in the political space. While this is good for selling newspapers and for attorney’s filing defamation suits, it is terrible for democratic institutions.

With the production of the political pantomime’s next chapter in full swing, the reinstatement of the office is of fundamental importance before the next local government elections. I would like to see a more expanded role for the office with actual teeth to sanction. Although, I think we are more likely to see our local political warmonger became a priest for peace, than to see an empowered political ombudsman. In the meantime, reinstatement of the office will just have to do.

With the fine-tuning of election machinery under way and the temperature of platform speeches increasing, one institution that should be revived is the Office of the Political Ombudsman. That is unless we want to see the resurrection of some of the darkest chapters of our political history.

The Soothsayer is a contemplative Jamaican who provides insight on the future of Jamaica