Turned off by missing MPs, flexible election date

Tanika Tugwell is a 33-year-old teacher from Montego Bay, St James, who has not even considered voting. She says she has no interest because, as far as she is concerned, the major parties are not keeping up their end of the bargain.

I am cognisant of the struggles made by many individuals to afford me and my fellow Jamaicans the right to freely elect our representatives in Parliament since 1944.

Despite my recognition of these struggles, I have never participated in general elections, and I think it is highly unlikely that I will participate inthis one, unless there are significant changes in the structure of our government and the nature of the voting process.

In theory, the structure of our government and the nature of our election process seem enviable; however, in practice, there are some troubling issues. First, the fact that an election is called whenever the current head of government decides is a matter of concern, because itcreates feelings of confusion and uncertainty among the electorate. I believe the election date should be fixed and not left to the whim of any head of government.

Second, the fact that our citizens are allowed to elect their government by voting for representatives of their constituencies is another admirable feature of our political system. It would be expected that the elected representative would attempt to have a close relationship with constituents and thus be in a better position to address the needs of their people.

However, many citizens are unaware of who their representatives are because those elected only visit their constituency during election season, never to be seen again till five years later. This behaviour totally nullifies the idea that they have a close relationship with constituents, as is evident by the innumerable social ills.

My family is not political, and thus I have never had an interest to be a participant in thepolitical process. Additionally, I have not witnessedany significant political development that would serve to alter my apolitical outlook.

Are policies really working?

This is not to give the impression that I have not noticed the various policies of the Government that were implemented over the past years, for example, those designed to allow greater access to education and health care.

However, I have also noticed that the aforementioned policies seem not to be having the desired impact - hospitals are even more overcrowded andalmost only in critical cases are attempts being made to give the required attention.

Similarly, with free education, the removal of tuition payment has been circumvented by even more exorbitant 'auxiliary fees'.

Finally, Jamaica is essentially a two-party state, and the two primary parties are supposed to be theoretically different. However, in practice there are no obvious fundamental differences between their policies or principles. If after an election a different party comes to power, over time there are no significant policy changes which would illustrate that a different party is in power. There is no overwhelming improvement in infrastructure or social welfare programmes, regardless of the party in power.

In essence, the realities of the current political climate do not appeal to my desire to participate.