Debates Commission not ignoring new political parties

Published:Friday | December 24, 2021 | 12:07 AM

THE EDITOR, Madam:

The letter of Mr Mario Boothe, published as the Letter of the Day on December 20, alleges that the Jamaica Debates Commission’s “current set-up seems to be ignoring the opinion of our newest political party and those that identify with their ideology”.

In fact, the position is entirely the opposite. The criteria for participation by political parties require that they be registered and must satisfy one of three conditions.

The first two of the three are based on previous poll results, but the third is based on current display of support among the electorate. That criterion qualifies any political party that “has been shown by at least one national poll of persons, included as electors on the official list of electors, which is to be used in the pending local government election of mayors and councillors of municipal corporations, to have the support of not less than eight per cent of the persons so polled in at least four different parishes”. This is a modest threshold and was designed to give to any credible party the opportunity to participate.

Clearly, the Jamaica Debates Commission cannot accommodate in the debates every and any political party that is registered without any regard to objective criteria and practical considerations. We have, therefore, sought to create objective, credible, and liberal criteria.

 

NOEL DACOSTA
Chairman

Published on Jamaica Gleaner (https://jamaica-gleaner.com)
Source URL: https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/letters/20211224/debates-commission-not-ignoring-new-political-parties