By Tony Myers, Contributor
Norman Manley (left), and Sir Alexander Bustamante at the signing of the Constitution in 1962. - File
WHEN JAMAICA gained Universal Adult Suffrage with the granting of a new constitution on October 27, 1944, it was the dawn of a refulgent era for every patriotic Jamaican. The right to vote was no longer a privilege but a right so long as one had reached the voting age which was 21 years.
Lest we forget, before 1944, men could only vote if they paid an annual tax of 10 shillings and were earning a salary of no less than eighty pounds per year. Women could not vote until they were 25 and can you imagine, in addition, they had to pass a literacy test along with the requirement as men in relation to tax and salary.
Jamaica's fourth general
election, held on July 28, 1959 set the stage for a period 1960 to 1983 that many patriotic Jamaicans would want to forget.
In that election, the incumbent People's National Party (PNP) won 29 seats to the Jamaica Labour Party's 16. Although the PNP received 54.8 per cent of the votes to the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) 44.3 per cent, the JLP cried 'foul' as that party complained about alleged impersonation and other malpractices. The Norman Manley government set up a committee of the House of Representatives with a terms of reference:
(1) To inquire and determine so far as possible, the extent to which false voting occurred throughout the island as a whole and in each constituency.
(2) To examine methods used in false voting and to make
recommendations as to how the law might be amended to eliminate this malpractice as far as possible.
The chief electoral officer, on checking the number of second ballots issued, submitted an interim report, which revealed that in 41 of the 45 constituencies, 950
second ballots were issued, 0.3 per cent of the PNP 305,642 votes received and 0.17 per cent of the 557,799 accepted ballots. This did not satisfy the JLP.
With the establishment of the West Indies Federation in early 1958, Norman Manley was expected to be the first premier; he however chose to stay in Jamaica as leader of the PNP. Consequently, Sir Grantley Adams of Barbados was appointed premier. The PNP leader and premier of Jamaica was
confident of his cousin's (Bustamante) support on the question of Jamaica playing an integral role in the West Indian's ambitions to unite as one body with a powerful voice on the world stage.
May 31, 1960 destroyed his dream as the destiny of the West Indies Federation as a nation was put to rest when Bustamante announced his party's opposition to federation as a matter of policy.
FIRST REFERENDUM
In a radio broadcast on June 9, 1960, Norman Manley announced his government's intention to call a referendum to ascertain the opinion of the people of Jamaica with respect to the continued participation of Jamaica in the Federation of the West Indies. It was a commendable act, which lifted the political bar to great heights. However, to have linked the verdict of the people to the calling of a general election
within six months of September 19, 1961, in my opinion, was political imprudence.
The referendum was in both respects the same as an ordinary general election. The question put to the electors was: "Should Jamaica remain in the Federation of the West Indies?". The
electors were required to answer yes or no. The symbols used on the ballot paper were the 'Tree' which was placed against the word 'Yes' and the 'Bell' which was placed against the word 'No'. The results were as
follows:
| Electors on list | | 777,965 |
| Total Ballots |
| Cast | | 479,220 |
| | (61.6 %) |
| Rejected Ballots | | | 5,640 |
| | (1.2 %) |
| Accepted Ballots | | 473,580 |
| | (98.8 %) |
| Yes | | 217,319 |
| | (45.9 %) |
| No | | 256,261 |
| | (54.1 %). |
The majority of electors who voted in the negative was therefore 38,942 or 5 per cent of the total electors on list.
Apart from the Corporate Area in which the PNP won seven of 10 seats and the parishes of St. Ann and Manchester, all other parishes supported the JLP's campaign Federation no.
COUNTRY HOODWINKED
The JLP opposition to the
federation which was regarded by Norman Manley as a betrayal by his cousin Bustamante, having worked together with the express purpose of achieving federal nationhood, paled into insignificance when compared to the 'big lie' used by the JLP to secure victory in 1962.
The JLP commenced an
insidious drugging of the public mind regarding a Russian ship docked on the Jamaican shores. The party said "The Russian ship was here to enslave us into
communism". The voters were hoodwinked and the JLP were back in office.
It is therefore very clear and unambiguous that a prime minister in the future would not fail to "let the shipwreck of others (his mentor) be his sea marks"; and therefore would perish the thought of allowing history to repeat itself.
Lest we forget, the JLP's scant disregard for the voters of this country during the period leading up to the 1967 General Election made a mockery of our democracy. The September 1961 voters' list for the referendum was 777,965, increased by 10,575 (2.39 per cent) to 796,540 for the 1962 General Election. Come February 21, 1967, the total number of electors on the list was dramatically reduced by 253,233 (31.79 per cent) to a new low of 543,307 (18.06 per cent) less than the 663,069 electors on list for our first election in 1944. The JLP won 33 seats to the PNP's 20 as the number of constituencies was increased from 45 to 53.
With this sort of information at his disposal, how could P.J. Patterson trust the JLP by calling a referendum on the Caribbean Court of Justice at the JLP's request?
Many of the agents of divisiveness, based on greed, envy and selfishness, are adroit in corrupting the electorate, always more anxious to serve error than truth. Let us "Buy the truth, do not sell it, get wisdom discipline and understanding," Proverbs 23:23 (NIV).
To those who have misled some of my fellow Jamaicans over the past two to three decades, I say, your day will come when the
people will see you for what you are naked, blind, unproductive and blatantly unpatriotic.
My advice to the PNP is as
follows:
(1) Press the gas pedal as it relates to providing jobs and
training for our young people.
(2) Those who are on the wrong side of law and order must be given a chance to reconnect with peace, love and justice. This can only be achieved with the assistance of the private sector, friendly countries and our own brothers and sisters who want to return to their homeland where conditions in their communities are conducive to a life of harmony and love due to significant development in the broad principles of justice social and economic.
(3) Special focus on early childhood education; special emphasis on basic schools.
(4) The concept of sovereignty
in Jamaica must be among the
priorities in the process of the come-let-us-reason-together spirit.
(5) As stated in your manifesto for the October 16, 2002 General Election, constitutional reform must be addressed in its fullest
during the period 2002-2007. While I agree with the entrenchment of a charter of fundamental rights, the movement from a monarchical system to a republican system of government, the abolition of appeal to the Privy Council and the replacement by the Caribbean Court of Justice, I strongly suggest that the CCJ be entrenched in our Constitution, along with the long overdue electoral commission.
(6) Referendum is a very
costly exercise, however, in the preservation of our democracy, cost becomes insignificant.
Consequently I say, go to the people for their verdict on the CCJ. All other constitutional changes to complete the decolonisation
journey of Jamaica must be a part of a package for the verdict of the people. Let the voice of the people rule. 21st century electors are wiser than ever and must be trusted with the formation of their own opinions.
Anthony 'Tony' Myers
is a statistician and
political analyst.
