Perhaps the greatest achievement by Jamaica in its nearly half-century of Independence is that it has maintained its democracy. The country's institutions may have been stressed and bent, but in periods of danger, the country has always rallied to ensure that they have not broken.

The country has an opportunity to celebrate this achievement and with it, one of the institutional foundations on which this democracy rests. Today, Dr Patrick Allen, a Seventh-day Adventist pastor and educator, will be installed as the country's sixth governor general (GG) to succeed Professor Sir Kenneth Hall, 67, who is retiring, as he has reported, for health reasons. Sir Kenneth will have served for three years.

Dr Allen's elevation to the job is in a way, too, both symbolic as well as a test of the country's democracy. First, that we will change a governor general in the fashion that will happen at King's House will be a declaration that constitutional order remains in place, as it has for these 47 years. That is not the case with many countries which gained their independence around the same time as Jamaica.

Concerns raised

But, as must be well known - the issue having been ventilated in the press - there is unease in some quarters that Allen, as a Seventh-day Adventist, should be appointed head of state. Those who have raised the issue have cited two main concerns: the interpretation of Seventh-day Adventists themselves as to the parameters within which they may be involved in affairs of the state; and second, that Dr Allen might seek to impose a Seventh-day Adventist interpretation of morality on the job, offending the wider society.

We understand that people's values and, therefore, their approach to life and issues are, to a large degree shaped by their core beliefs and perspectives. We do not, however, share the expressed fears about Dr Allen, a highly intelligent and decent human being, who will be guided by the Constitution and the law and the appropriate balance of public sentiment.

This brings us to another point about the system of government Jamaica has chosen to embrace, which is at once the best so far devised by mankind and yet the most difficult to operate. The great difficulty of a democracy is not so much ensuring the will of the majority. That, usually, is the easy part. By far, the greater difficulty is insisting upon and protecting the rights of the minority, including those who might not be considered 'mainstream'.

Religious philosophy

Dr Allen should appreciate this, as it is being played out, in a small way, in his own case. Those who are wary about his appointment object, in part out of prejudice, that he adheres to a religious philosophy which, despite its broad and growing acceptance in Jamaica, is not considered mainstream. He will require deftness in managing these perceived tensions between his private life and public duty.

Dr Allen is also assuming the job at a very opportune time, with the expansion in the constitutional interpretation of the role of the person who occupies King's House. The great power of government rests in the hands of the prime minister. However, the governor general, constitutionally, is not a mere figurehead.

Moreover, Jamaicans maintain their trust in the office. It is not without reason that the GG has been asked to assume powers not specifically declared by the Constitution. Dr Allen has an opportunity to shape this emergence.

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