NEW YORK (CMC):
With more than a million Jamaicans reportedly living abroad and playing a significant role in their country's economic and social development, former Prime Minister P.J. Patterson says a case can be made for them to participate in national elections.
But Patterson said a number of key legal matters must first be addressed.
"I have raised certain concerns, and if those concerns can be satisfactorily addressed, I think there is a case that can be made out in support of it," he was quoted as saying in the New York Carib News on Saturday.
UNRESOLVED LEGAL QUESTIONS
Patterson said there are unresolved legal questions about the method of voting and the role, if any, for second-generation Jamaicans.
"It is an issue which has been raised continuously," he said. "There are some impediments which would have to be overcome.
"Most of us deal with constituency representation as distinct from proportional representation, and one of the things that would have to be determined is if the overseas people are allowed to vote, where do they vote?" he asked.
"Would it be in the constituency of their origin or in the constituency where they have built a home? In respect of those from the second generation, where is it that the vote would be taken?" he continued.
Patterson said overseas seats in the House of Representatives should not be set aside unless there are fundamental revisions to the current Constitution.
STEP BY STEP
"This is certainly one of the matters that I know will be raised and discussed, and we would have to take it step by step," he said.
The former Jamaican leader acknow-ledged the contributions of overseas Jamaicans in national development, pointing out that more steps should be adopted to reinforce those links.
Since demitting office as Jamaica's longest-serving Prime Minister, Patterson has joined Goodworks International, a lobbying and consulting firm with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, and Washington, as a senior adviser. Good-works represents several large U.S. corporations and some African nations.
