Recent events in Jamaica have ignited reflection on how our democracy is functioning and what changes we may wish to consider in seeking to strengthen it. These events include:
- The naming of a Constitutional Reform Committee in 2023 and discussions surrounding this, chief of which is the type of republic Jamaica may adopt and operationally, the fact that no minutes of the proceedings of the committee’s meetings have been made public.
- The problem of low voter turnout as shown in the 2024 Local Government Elections where a record voter turnout of 30% was recorded.
- New procedures put in place by the Speaker of the House of Representatives for the tabling of reports from the Integrity Commission and the Auditor General, the Speaker’s refusal to release the full Legal Opinion of the Attorney General on the matter, and the government’s walkout of Parliament, led by the Prime Minister, during a budget presentation by the Opposition Leader. The walkout, which appears pre-planned, effectively shut down the parliament because the quorum for the Parliament is 16 and the Opposition has only 14 members.
- The Speaker issuing a letter of reprimand to a civil service staff member of the parliament (the Clerk of the House) over whom she has no supervisory authority and (even if she did have that authority) failing to follow the basic procedural rules.
Is Jamaica’s democracy at risk?
Lloyd Smith, a 40-year veteran in the field of journalism, a former Member of Parliament and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives expresses the view that Jamaica’s democracy is at risk of becoming a dictatorship. Smith cites, as evidence, the issues mentioned in point # 3, above.
Lloyd Smith, a 40-year veteran in the field of journalism, a former Member of Parliament and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives expresses the view that Jamaica’s democracy is at risk of becoming a dictatorship.
But Jamaica’s democracy is at risk not only because a government with a super majority can effectively silence the Opposition (inside the House) by denying the House a quorum but is at risk because most citizens have lost interest in voting. The table below shows voter turnout across nine General Elections between 1980 and 2020 (excluding the 1983 snap elections which the PNP did not contest).
VOTER TURNOUT IN GENERAL ELECTIONS IN JAMAICA, 1980 TO 2020
(AND SHARE OF THE POPULAR VOTE OF MAJOR POLITICAL PARTIES)[i]
| YEAR | # of Votes Cast | Voter Turnout (%) | # of Votes for the PNP | % Share | # of SEATS won | # of Votes for the JLP | % Share | # of SEATS won |
| 1980 | 860,746 | 86.91 | 350,064 | 40.67 | 9 | 502,746 | 58.34 | 51 |
| 1989 | 845,485 | 78.91 | 473,754 | 56.03 | 45 | 362,589 | 42.89 | 15 |
| 1993 | 675,296 | 60.28 | 401,131 | 59.40 | 52 | 263,711 | 39.05 | 8 |
| 1997 | 771,068 | 65.22 | 429,805 | 55.74 | 50 | 297,387 | 38.57 | 10 |
| 2002 | 768,282 | 59.04 | 396,371 | 51.59 | 34 | 360,468 | 46.92 | 26 |
| 2007 | 821,325 | 61.46 | 405,293 | 49.35 | 28 | 410,438 | 49.97 | 32 |
| 2011 | 876,310 | 53.17 | 464,064 | 53 | 42 | 405,920 | 46.3 | 21 |
| 2016 | 882,389 | 48.37 | 433,735 | 49.2 | 31 | 436,972 | 49.5 | 32 |
| 2020 | 727,317 | 37.85 | 304,000 | 42.18 | 14 | 406,000 | 57.18 | 49 |
The data show that the 1980 general elections had a voter turnout of almost 87%. This was the most contentious general elections in Jamaica’s modern history. Following the six years, between 1983 and 1989 when the PNP was not in Parliament but very active politically, there was an approximate 79% turnout in 1989, representing an eight percentage points, or 9%, reduction. In 1993 there was an eighteen percentage points, or about a 23%, reduction with a 60% turnout. There were fluctuations between 1997 and 2007, but since 2007 there has been a steady and persistent decline, with 2020 being the lowest at just under 38%.
The alarming nature of this decline has not escaped the entity charged with managing elections, the Electoral Commission of Jamaica. In a story carried by the Jamaica Observer on April 7, 2024, the chairman of the Commission, Hon Earl Jarrett, is reported to have shared data from a recent poll which showed some reasons most Jamaicans are not interested in voting. The reasons include:
- No difference between the parties
- None performing effectively
- None of them helping people
- Politics too dirty.
The alarming nature of this decline has not escaped the entity charged with managing elections, the Electoral Commission of Jamaica.
The above reasons are consistent with what has been the subject of veranda, street, and small group talk for some time now. It is self-evident that if we have a government voted into power by a minority of the population and that government will do extreme things such as shutting down the parliament because it does not like what the Opposition is saying, or the Speaker making rules which amount to denying the public access to information to which it is entitled, and purporting to exercise powers she does not possess, then it may be reasonable to conclude that a dictatorship is in the making.
It is self-evident that if we have a government voted into power by a minority of the population and that government will do extreme things such as shutting down the parliament because it does not like what the Opposition is saying, or the Speaker making rules which amount to denying the public access to information to which it is entitled, and purporting to exercise powers she does not possess, then it may be reasonable to conclude that a dictatorship is in the making.
It is without question that these things, taken together, pose a grave risk to our democracy.
Towards possible cures
The central problem, in my view, is voter apathy and citizens’ indifference. If voters/citizens showed care, the Constitutional Review Committee could not “get away’ with holding meetings and town hall discussions and not giving the public access to its deliberations. If citizens cared then the Speaker could not impose her wish on the parliament in the manner she did, including the rank abuse of her position by seeking to discipline the Clerk without stating an actual act of misconduct, exercising powers she does not possess and breaching the most sacred rules of due process.
The question then is: How do we get citizens engaged? I suggest six ways:
- Develop a constitutional reform process which abolishes the first past the post system and introduces a system whereby seats are allocated based on the number of votes won (using the popular vote).
- Under this said constitutional reform, every political party, which meets an established membership threshold, would qualify for state funding. This would allow for the successful formation of other political parties. The existence of other political parties will give citizens more choices. Third parties have not succeeded in winning seats in Jamaica and part of the reason is how they are funded. I propose a mechanism by which every political party which can show it has at least 5,000 members should quality for state funding and for every 10,000 votes it wins in an election it gets a seat in parliament.
- An increase in the number of seats in the House of Representatives (both the Lower and Upper House). The additional seats would be for candidates at large. Candidates at large refer to those who are not representing a specific constituency but are running nationally. Thus, each elector could vote for both the constituency candidate and the candidate at large. I would recommend that there be at least twenty-two candidates at large (one-third, plus one of the number of constituencies (63) – for a new total of 85). In addition, I propose another eight places in the Senate (one-third plus one of the existing number- 21), for a new total of 29.
- Allowing members of the diaspora to vote.
- Make voting mandatory. Mandatory voting is practised in several countries including Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile. Singapore, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey. In many of these countries there are multiple political parties, and some which receive state funding, and some also allow members of their diaspora to vote.
- The creation of the Jamaican Republic which is headed by a President who chairs a Presidential Council of thirteen to fifteen members, with ten to twelve members named by certified political parties (which would have won at least 10,000 votes). Two members would be named by the Chief Justice. The President would run directly for office and should not be a member of a political party.
Role of Parliament
Under this proposed model, parliament would be truly the House of Representatives and the government would name its executive from among a minority number of elected and majority number of non-elected persons, who are answerable to the Prime Minister, who must be elected and who is in turn answerable to the Parliament and the President. All non-elected persons who are proposed to be members of the executive must be cleared by parliament and secure a majority of votes. Such members would also be liable to be called by any committee of parliament to testify on any matter under its purview and would be subject to removal from office by way of impeachment, for prescribed violations, including illicit enrichment.
Under this proposed model, parliament would be truly the House of Representatives and the government would name its executive from among a minority number of elected and majority number of non-elected persons, who are answerable to the Prime Minister, who must be elected and who is in turn answerable to the Parliament and the President.
Other Key Features
Other features of this new constitutional arrangement would be:
- fixed election dates
- mandatory removal from office (recall) of any member of parliament whose statutory declarations are not submitted for two consecutive years or remain uncertified for two consecutive years (This is predicated on the expectation that the law would be amended to have all declarations from members of parliament certified.)
- the barring of members of the same household from being in the Cabinet
- the speaker being a retired judge of the Supreme Court or Court of Appeal
Given the current state of Jamaica’s democracy, it is critical that the Constitutional Reform Committee resumes its work, takes account of the various submissions from the citizenry and expands its horizons to think of creative ways of reimagining our democracy. In addition to placing restrictions on what may occur, having regard to some of the actions of the government and the Speaker, there needs to be new standards and new parameters to promote citizen participation and accountability.
[i] Source: The Electoral Commission of Jamaica
Canute Thompson is Professor of Educational Policy, Planning and Leadership at The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, a social activist, and author of eight books and eighteen journal articles.
His academic achievements include:
- Two Principal’s Awards in 2023 for research activity generating the most funds, and research activity with the most development impacts, serving as Project Director for a project executed by the Caribbean Centre for Educational Planning.
- A 2022 Bronze place winner in the Independent Publisher Book Awards for his book, Education and Development: Policy Imperatives for Jamaica and the Caribbean.
- A 2021 finalist in The Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence for all-round excellent performance in Outstanding Teaching, Outstanding Research Accomplishments, Outstanding Service to the University Community, Outstanding Public Service.
- A 2021 Principal’s Award for Most Outstanding Researcher.
- Two Principal’s Awards in 2020 for Most Outstanding Researcher and Best Publication for his book, Reimagining Educational Leadership in the Caribbean.