D.K. Duncan POLITICAL TRANSFORMATION involves fundamental changes not only in the values and attitudes of our nation and our personal lives but also in systems and practice. It carries with it tremendous challenges for developing new insights as well as a commitment to genuine participatory democracy.
Norman Manley once said that Jamaica does not lack ideas - what we really lack is fixity of purpose and continuity of effort. A pre-requisite for fixity of purpose and sustaining effort is a certain level of agreement/unity around ideas - at least some.
It is in this context of shared ideas and as a consequence the possibility of a SHARED VISION that some Jamaicans call for National Unity. Others call for co-operation and/or collaboration while some call for consensus. Critical to this process is an understanding of genuine dialogue.
Can we agree where fundamental changes (transformation) are necessary? The first casualties of any such agreement would have to be myth-making and the promotion of fiction.
The victors in any such agreement would be reality, truth and respect. These are some of the building blocks for trust. Trust is a major precondition for establishing an agenda of transformation, which would have any hope of success. Within this perspective let us examine the process within which the EAC/EOJ developed.
EAC/EOJ
Over the course of some 22 years - from 1979 with Professor Gladstone Mills through William Chin-See to Professor Errol Miller (2002) leading the Electoral Advisory Committee (EAC) - the foundations for a sound electoral system have emerged. Significant credit must go to the present Director of Elections, Danville Walker, and the staff of the Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ).
The representative of the two major political parties as well as their leaders, despite several hiccups, have also played critical roles. A central role, as always belong to Civil Society - the citizens of Jamaica.
What are some elements of this foundation for a sound electoral system based on trust?
The availability of an Electoral List with integrity several months before an election is due. This will play a very important role in the defusing of potential tensions on or before Election Day - a direct consequence of building trust.
The availability of an Electoral List which also includes the photograph of each elector should further the cause of the integrity of the system. The Director of Elections has promised this. The ability of the Electoral Office to provide this kind of list will depend on the timing of the elections. Another step in the building of trust.
Establishing and agreeing on the location of polling stations ahead of Nomination Day is another step in the building of trust.
Developing a cadre of non-activists (partisan or not) as electoral officials is an important element of this trust. The training is well on its way and going well according to unofficial reports.
Electronically generated ballots based on all fingerprints being crossed-matched would go a long way in consolidating this trust. This may not be possible at this time around.
Accelerating the speed with which the Election Courts resolve outstanding electoral issues is critical to this trust.
For successful completion of this stage of the process, we need to implement as quickly as possible the entrenching of an independent Electoral Commission in the Constitution. One of the early recommendations of the Constitutional Commission's report (1993) states:
"That in keeping with the directives of the Representation of the People (Interim Electoral Reform) Act, an Electoral Reform Commission be entrenched in the Constitution with such provisions as to appointments of members, tenure of office and powers consistent with its role as an independent and impartial body"(page 53). This recommendation needs to be put at the top of the political agenda immediately after the upcoming general election. The representatives of the political parties can then take their leave, having assisted in facilitating this transition and turning over power to the people.
If these basic reforms can be achieved and understood both in terms of process and systems - the future prospects for transformation of other aspects of our political culture may be bright.
THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY
A strengthened role for the Citizens' Action for Free and Fair Elections (CAFFE) should enhance the possibilities of the sustainability of a system with integrity. The nation's citizens - Civil Society - need to finance this NGO independently of the state and/or international organisations. "He who pays the piper calls the tune." In addition the State-financing of political parties need to be addressed urgently. This issue is to be debated in the Senate later this week as it has been in the other fora over many years.
Transformation incorporates the notion of empowerment. It has been noted elsewhere that:
1. Sometimes empowerment means developing increasing levels of trust across many levels of relationships, until an opening appears and the collective momentum carries something through.
2. Sometimes empowerment means re-orienting and transforming systems as so that they more effectively meet people's needs and provide services to which people have a right but to which they have not had access before.
3. Sometimes empowerment means providing resources to people to do with as they decide.
4. Sometimes empowerment means creating conditions that ensure people's participation.
The gamut of changes in the electoral system over the last 20 years demonstrates attempts to come to grips with some of the tenets of governance i.e., Consensual decision-making, Transparency, Accountability and Sanctions - albeit a very slow and painful process. We are not there yet. This is still a "work in progress." However, one can discern elements of trust appearing.
A case study of our electoral system - shorn of myths and fiction - embedded in truth and reality, could point a way to the building of further trust - thereby laying the basis for transformation of our political culture.
One Love, One Heart.
Former General Secretary and Government Minister in the PNP Administration of the 1970s, Dr. Duncan - a Dental Surgeon, recently established "The D.K. Duncan Political Institute'. E-mail: dktruth@hotmail.com
