It all boils down to today – the profundity of which Jamaicans ought not to underestimate, should deeply cherish, and work hard to maintain.

That is why all participants in today’s parliamentary elections – parties, candidates, election managers, the security forces and monitors – must do everything to ensure that the exercise is free and fair, and free from fear.

In many countries a process such as today’s is not possible, or the norm. In some places where something approximating a democratic election may indeed happen, there are unwritten caveats and restrictions to render the process less than free or fair, or democratic.

However, in Jamaica, for the 18th unbroken time at regular intervals, over 81 years of universal suffrage, citizens will elect the government of their choice. And barring a collapse of the integrity of the system in this final phase of the exercise, no one, despite minor hiccups, would credibly claim that this election was rigged, or that the outcome will not genuinely reflect the will of the people. There is no pre-ordination.

The island’s independently managed electoral system works. This is the critical foundation of democracy: the right of citizens to choose their government.

Democracy and elections are often messy processes, tarnished by corruption and sleaze. But democracy comes with a great strength – an inherent capacity to right itself because of the centrality of the right of citizens to vote.

DIRECT ENGAGEMENTS
In this country’s case, while the tenor of some of the campaign discourse may have been bruising, and offensive to some sensibilities, or may have failed to articulate some policies with sufficient clarity, the island’s two major political parties, the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), the incumbents, and the People’s National Party (PNP), over several months offered voters sharply contrasting perceptions of Jamaica as it exists, and their differing visions of its future with their policies.

Moreover, key spokesmen engaged in televised debates: one-on-one between the leaders, the JLP’s Andrew Holness and the PNP’s Mark Golding, and as teams between two other sets of debaters. These exchanges were amplified by the island’s free and independent media, a key estate of democracy.

These direct engagements between people offering themselves for public office were important, and worthy of celebration on a number of fronts. That the Jamaica Debates Commission (JDC), which has hosted election debates for a quarter of a century, could host this year’s is significant.

In the past, the project was funded primarily by the USA’s Agency for International Development, which the Trump administration has shut down, crippling many of its programmes. Happily, the JDC was able to quickly pivot to the domestic private sector, which, to its credit, responded positively.

Importantly, the debates allowed journalists to question the spokesmen, including the party leaders, on critical policy issues in high-stress situations, and environments, where their answers and body language could be closely scrutinised by the questioners and audience. That helped with insights into the speakers’ command of their briefs, and offered peeks into their characters, especially when under pressure. This is of worth to voters in making decisions about who should be the leader of their country.

GREATER OBLIGATION
While Jamaica’s democracy is, on balance, sound and worth celebrating, that does not mean there are not shortcomings needing attention, or that it can be taken for granted.

Indeed, a pervasive view by Jamaicans that the island’s public officials are extremely corrupt fuels distrust in the institutions of democracy, which then drives voter apathy.

For example, in the 2023 biennial survey on attitudes to democracy in the Americas by Vanderbilt University’s LAPOP opinion laboratory, 86 per cent of Jamaicans felt that public officials were corrupt. Only 58 per cent had a hard commitment to democracy, and a mere 28 per cent believed that democracy, as practised in the island, worked in their interest. Half of the population would tolerate a military coup if its aim was to combat corruption.

With those numbers, it is hardly surprising that voter participation has been in decline in recent years, falling to 37.8 per cent of the electorate in 2020, an 11 1/2 percentage point decline in 2016, which was nearly five points lower than in 2011. Until the 2000s, voter turnout tended to be over 70 per cent and 80 per cent.

Against the backdrop of the recent trend, we hope the finding of a recent Don Anderson opinion poll that over 50 per cent intend to cast ballots today holds true.

There is hard work to be done by all stakeholders in the democratic process to turn things around. But the greater obligation rests with whoever leads the country after today’s vote.

That starts with the leader being firmly committed to rebuilding trust in the institutions of government and governance, which means turning hard and fully against any semblance of corruption in government.

Jamaica has a strong foundation of democracy, which must be strengthened, rather than be allowed to erode.

https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/commentary/20250903/editorial-foundation-democracy