Sanford By Roy Sanford, Contributor
WELL, IT is all over in St. Ann North-East. All the rhetoric, all the long speeches, all the promises, all the harassing, all the motorcades, and all the appearances by guest stars working hard to earn a living, to feeding their families, to surviving. The politicians and their entourage can now return to their air-conditioned offices to plot and to scheme. Some are victorious and patting themselves on the backs, others are licking their wounds and wondering what went wrong. The by-election was typical of any political contest, down and dirty. All those who participated in it, especially the politicians, are still feeling the ripple effects.
It might still be premature for me to comment in detail on, or even analyse the minutiae of the Jamaican political process (after all, I am still new here). However, I have had the opportunity to live on and observe the political processes of a number of Caribbean Islands and I would like to make a few comments. Based on my observations of the St. Ann by-election, many of these comments apply to politics and politicking in Jamaica.
The making of promises is something that goes hand in hand with universal politics (not only politics in the Caribbean). Politicians love making promises. The most famous political promise that comes to my mind is the "read my lips' promise made by President George Bush (Senior). It ultimately led to his downfall. On the radio, one of the political parties contesting the by-election promised change. Change? From what to what? The commercial never mention any mechanism that will be put into place to bring about the change. It did not say what is going to be done to make this country better. It seemed like another empty promise.
This takes me to issues. It is the road less taken. Politicians in the Caribbean spend more time trying to buy votes rather than talking about issues that really matter. They exploit the neediness of the populace by offering cheap clothes, stale food, and alcoholic drinks in return for votes. In Steer Town, the political parties tried to woo undecided squatter voters by holding rallies in the area and touring squatter settlements (I wonder if, on a normal day, any of the leaders of the political parties would actually visit a squatter settlement). However, did they deal in detail with the corruption that is so deeply embedded in both the private and public sector in this country? Of course they wouldn't. They are getting rich from it (I once heard somebody say there are two ways to become rich in the Caribbean: dealing in drugs and becoming a politician). Corruption is the bubonic plague of Caribbean politics (this is the only reason why I oppose the proposed Caribbean Court of Appeal). Or did they discuss the reason why there are so many gunmen in this country? Did they mention that unemployment could be a possible cause? Did they propose concrete ways to alleviate these problems? Hardly. Instead so much time was spent on speeches that were short on substance and long on style. People were "pumped-up" with loud music, free t-shirts and flags. The ruling party even tried to impress voters by conducting feverish road repairs and the laying of water pipes in some parts of the parish before the election (is anyone surprised that these repairs actually stalled right after the election? Do these politicians really think that people are that stupid so as not to notice the real purpose behind these repairs?). In the end, the real issues were left on the wayside like road kills.
Politics in the Caribbean is highly personal. Politicians spend a lot of time attacking each other's personal lives in the hope of tainting them and winning votes. Many of these politicians know each other well and have worked together in the past. When some sort of disagreement develops between them, their egos come in, and the result is a personal political feud. I don't think there will ever be alliance between the National Democratic Movement (NDM) and the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), although Mr. Bruce Golding and Mr. Edward Seaga were political bosom buddies. I don't think professionalism is the problem. It's all personal and egoistic.
In Caribbean politics there are hardly any avenues for taking into account the opposing party's point of view. It is impossible to see the leaders of the major political parties here in Jamaica seat together to discuss policy and issues. Everyone thinks their opinion is the best. Democracy ideally presumes that people living together in a society need a process to arrive at binding decisions that takes everybody's interest into account. This ideal does not exist in Caribbean politics (another reason why the JLP and NDM cannot form an alliance). Although in Dominica (my native island) there is a coalition government, the two parties in the coalition can hardly come to binding agreement on certain issues. It is more like a marriage of convenience.
The by-election in St. Ann was unquestionably an expensive one. Money was poured into rallies, meetings, motorcades and the like. Money can buy anything, including votes and I am sure some votes were brought, directly or indirectly. No wonder Mr. Astor Black, the independence candidate, received so little votes. He was broke. Caribbean politicians spend huge amounts of money on their elections. Sometimes one has to wonder where they got all that money. One way or the other it comes from the taxpayers. Who else?
Undoubtedly, the result of the by-election is a sign of general discontent with the government of Mr. P.J. Patterson. Many analysts agree that it could be the beginning of the end for his administration. They are right. An administration that is in power should be able to get voters (at least most voters) through the results of its accomplishment only, nothing else. If the administration were firmly in control, winning the election would have been easy. But the voters have spoken. And that is the beauty of democracy, no matter how much Caribbean politicians twist it to their advantage.
