The Editor, Sir:

The current election cycle more than any other in the history of Jamaica has illuminated many urgent problems in the country's Constitution requiring an urgent and comprehensive review. The country's democratic traditions and freedoms are being severely tested not only by the entrance of Hurricane Dean into the political foray, but also by several actions over the past few months that infringe on the freedom of political expression by the public.

Many in the society are silent on these issues with one noticeable exception, Mr. Ken Jones of the Farquharson Institute who apparently understands remarkably well that restricting individual freedoms should not be a substitute for teaching tolerance. He was referring to the much publicised political code which prohibits displaying political paraphernalia on private property. The political code is paramount to a collusion by the PNP and JLP to impose unconstitutional restrictions on the broader society. It ought to be the responsibility of the party leaders to teach tolerance to their throngs of deviant activists and functionaries. No principled leader would agree to such an imposition if they put country before political allegiance.

More recently, the police have taken on an unprecedented role in politics by deciding who, what and where campaigning should be allowed. This is a very dangerous precedent. Having the security forces become entrenched in the political process is a road that Jamaica can ill afford and must be addressed immediately. Law enforcement ought to be involved only in legitimate security enforcement issues without any political colour or flavour. Allowing the security forces to impose bans on political campaigning activity lends itself to potential abuse of power. This is at best questionable and should never be allowed to continue.

Not to be left out is the question concerning dual citizenship on whether those individuals can legally serve as Members of Parliament. Whatever the law allows, candidates should be thoroughly vetted before being nominated. It is time we add more professionalism to the political process, which may result in the selection of better qualified candidates who may be able to deliver a more efficient and responsive government.

Hurricane Dean has introduced a dilemma which has added much furore to an already volatile situation as the country faced the matter of postponing the election from the original date of August 27 to September 3. The imperativeness of fixed election dates with allowances fo dates should be revisited to prevent this nightmare in the future. These problems are adding up to be the perfect storm, only to be topped if the country is faced with a tie at the end of the voting process. If such is the case, we may be better off with a shared power structure, forcing both political parties to take seriously reforming the nation's Constitution as a republic.

What these problems indicate is the urgency with which Jamaicans through bipartisan support must make it a priority in attending to the structure of government and the processes.

I am, etc.,

VINTON M. GRANT

rugsdat@aim.com

Washington, D.C.

Via Go-Jamaica