- RUDOLPH BROWN/CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
Life as it unfolds in the community of Penn Street in Jones Town in South St. Andrew, a garrison constituency. Violence has been plaguing the community in recent times.Garwin Davis, Assistant News Editor
BEFORE A vote is cast in the country's parliamentary elections, the scorecard reads: Ten seats to the governing People's National Party (PNP) and two to the opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).
So with such a telling electoral advantage, owing of course to its dominance in terms of garrison constituencies, has this in any way assisted the PNP in winning six of Jamaica's eight general elections since 1972? The PNP did not contest the snap election of 1983.
"In my opinion, no," explained Dr. D.K. Duncan, noted political commentator. "There is nothing by way of evidence to suggest that the garrisons by themselves have ever determined the outcome of an election ... whether by way of the popular vote or the margin of victory."
Dr. Duncan added that while he would readily concede that the garrisons have no place in any form of democracy, it would also be grossly naive for anyone to believe that the garrisons can be dismantled overnight.
"Fraudulent voting and intimidation - a part of the garrison phenomenon - has no place in a democracy," he stressed. "So while the garrisons by themselves have not been able to decide the outcome of elections in Jamaica, they have served no purpose in terms of nation building. They are not good for the people in these areas and they are not good for the Jamaican state."
DISMANTLING GARRISONS
The Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica , in its Emancipation Park Declaration several months ago, has demanded of the authorities to dismantle all garrisons.
Opposition Leader and Member of Parliament for what is considered the 'mother of all garrisons' - West Kingston - Bruce Golding agreed.
"The garrisons have contributed to the outcome of particular seats but not the elections by themselves," he said. "While I have not yet done a proper analysis or breakdown of the numbers, I think it would be fair to say that even if we didn't have the unrealistic results in some of these areas or even if the playing fields were level, the results would still be the same."
Asked whether the PNP's garrison dominance could not be seen as a major factor in that party's narrow victory in the 2002 general election, Mr. Golding said it would be difficult to prove that such had been the case.
"We can't just take the garrison seats out of the equation and say this is how the results would have been," he said. "It is a lot more complicated than that."
'STATES WITHIN A STATE'
The July 1997 report of the National Committee on Political Tribalism chaired by then Political Ombudsman Justice James Kerr described garrison communities as "states within a state.
It noted: "The Jamaican state has no authority or power except in as far as its forces are able to invade in the form of police and military. In the core garrison disputes have been settled, matters tried, offenders sentenced and punished, all without reference to the institutions of the Jamaican state."
The Kerr committee was also of the view that "the creation of, development and maintenance of garrisons are neither accidents of history nor geography but part of a process deliberately fostered for political ends."
It continued: "The garrison phenomenon has become central to the practice of electoral manipulation in Jamaica. Although the garrisons may in fact be relatively confined political strongholds their significance extends beyond their borders."
Noted political analyst, Tony Myers believes the issue of garrisons has been greatly exaggerated.
"They have been overstated," he said. "Some of the seats being referred to as garrisons are marginal at best, while places such as Central Clarendon, where the PNP has no chance of winning, is in the clear ... You go figure."
REGULARISE AREAS
Lecturer and architect Christopher Stone said the country's focus should not be about voting patterns in the garrison communities but rather on the need for the state to go in an "regularise these areas."
"When the private sector talks about the need to dismantle the garrisons, what exactly are we saying?" he asked. "Are we talking about moving persons to other areas? Is it that we are focusing on voting patterns? This is an important aspect that is missing from the debate and something we should be careful not to ignore."
Mr. Stone added that even if the most perfect of voting systems were in place in all the garrisons he didn't see how the outcome of any election would be altered.
"What we need is for the Government to go in these areas and ensure that law and order are maintained. By this I mean the state must ensure that we have one Jamaica where everyone plays by the same rule ... where the Jamaica Public Service can go in and carry out its functions. Where the National Water Commission can do its job without interference. If this is what we mean by dismantling the garrisons then I am all for it."
Following the 1997 general election, former United States President Jimmy Carter, in calling the garrison constituencies "a blight on Jamaica's democracy", said: "One unique and most disturbing feature of Jamaican politics is a number of garrison communities, mostly in the urban area of Kingston, each of which is totally dominated by one of the two major political parties. In many cases in these areas, votes are tabulated several times before the polls close, 100 per cent of those registered having voted for the dominant party--no matter how many have actually come to the polling site. The two main parties have accepted this arrangement, each struggling to carve out garrison communities for themselves."
Minister of National Security Dr. Peter Phillips, whose East Central St. Andrew constituency is considered a PNP stronghold, said he has always tried to foster a spirit of goodwill in communities throughout the area, adding that political persuasion has never influenced the way he deals with his constituents.
COMING TOMORROW: Life behind the garrisons
