Blame MPs for voter apathy

Suzanne Leslie-Bailey, Guest Columnist

Everald Warmington, Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) member of parliament for South West St Catherine, has been getting backlash for his controversial "if you don't vote, you don't count" comments made at a JLP meeting.

Roger Clarke, minister of agriculture, should not be let off the hook for his "if I scratch your back, you scratch fi mi back too" comment made at the opening ceremony of a low-income housing model unit at Innswood, St Catherine. Mr Clarke basically told the beneficiaries of the houses that they should reward the People's National Party (PNP) with their votes.

The styles in delivery may differ, but the messages are similar - that is, a vote is something to be bartered!

Mr Warmington's and Mr Clarke's comments do not rest well with me. However, if we scrape away the surface of Mr Warmington's comments and delve deeper, a larger issue emerges of how one's constitutional right to vote should be handled.

Some persons have posited that this right to vote should be compulsory. Currently, there are 22 countries that have compulsory voting, with an eligible voter facing punitive measures, such as community service or fines, for their failure to vote.

If Jamaica should embark on this path, would it make sense clogging up our already overburdened justice system with cases of errant non-voters? Or, putting another layer of bureaucracy in place in order to impose some other kind of punishment for persons who do not see a political candidate worth spoiling up a good manicure for by dipping their finger in ink?

RIGHT TO WITHHOLD VOTE

It is also the right of any citizen not to vote. By withholding a vote, a citizen is sending a message that he or she will not reward a bad politician. And to get the elector's vote, such a politician must perform!

This insistence that persons must exercise their constitutional right to vote is almost tantamount to a woman being in a relationship and encouraged by the 'older heads' to get married, as sex out of marriage is wrong and getting married is the sanctimonious thing to do - even when the man does not display the worthwhile traits of a husband.

For me, an even more critical issue arises: persons' disenchant-ment with the political process. Over the years, voter turnout in elections has been disappointingly low. In the last general elections in 2011, voter turnout was approximately 53 per cent.

What should preoccupy the minds of politicians is the blatant and growing apathy towards them! Many citizens do not feel the need to vote, as there is no real sustained benefit for them and they are still wearing the band around their bellies, while the lives of many politicians magnify tenfold. How come?

The typical image of a politician through the eyes of many Jamaicans is one who is self-serving, arrogant, corrupt, partisan and disingenuous - to put it bluntly, sweet-talking and saying the right things to impress, without meaning one word of what they are saying! Politicians should strive to fix this image.

FOOLING THE MASSES

I will not hold my breath that many politicians will consider transforming their image and, more important, living up to that image. The current broken political system suits them just fine. They can still manage to eke out a majority and become an MP by 'fooling up' the masses with empty promises, vote-buying, trickery and a euphemistic 'roughing up' thrown in for good measure. I will not broad-brush all politicians, as some do work hard and serve the people to secure victory.

Politicians tend to focus on the grass roots, as they may think that they are easier to manipulate. Just take a look at when a politician is campaigning. There is a crowd of mostly unemployed persons running behind him, suffocating him with tight hugs and effusive pronouncements of their love and admiration. Well, it does an ego good - so why stop it?

They will not create an environment that will generate sustained and meaningful employment and benefits for the masses, because then there will be no one to 'follow back a dem'.

It is for this very reason why the eyes of the grass roots must be opened and members of the middle class must get off their verandas and get involved in the political process, raise their voices on the issues, and demand that politicians be true servants of the people! Then maybe then, they will become candidates worth voting for or better yet, attract new candidates worth voting for!

Suzanne Leslie-Bailey is a law student and former research coordinator to former Prime Minister Bruce Golding. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and svclb@msn.com.