Vernon Daley

There's a piece of cruelty being inflicted upon the Jamaican people. We are being kept in a constant state of anxiety as the Prime Minister makes up her mind whether to go now or to go later. I'm referring to the general election, of course.

If we are to follow the political commentators, it seems that an election, for this year, is off the cards. The whole Trafigura business along with internal bickering in the governing party, have apparently seen to that.

But the decision to hold the election this year or next is not one for political commentators. It's solely within the power of the Prime Minister and she will use that power to her best advantage and that of her party.

We can hardly blame her for that.

Textbook case

Other Prime Ministers have done the same in the past. The 1983 snap election has been held out as the textbook case on how this power can be used to disadvantage a political opponent and leave voters without a viable alternative.

The Opposition Jamaica Labour Party says it is ready for the election and if that is true it is unlikely to be caught flat-footed. In fact, not a week goes by without Opposition Leader Bruce Golding calling for the Prime Minister to announce the date of the poll.

In all of this, there is an unsettling expectancy that engulfs the rest of us as we watch and listen, and watch and listen.

If Jamaicans can agree on nothing else, surely we can agree that we need to take the guessing and spelling out of elections by fixing the date of the polls.

Mr. Golding says he is wedded to the idea of a fixed election date and would move to have the constitution amended to reflect this, if his party wins power.

It would be lovely to know if Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller feels the same way and whether such a move would form any part of her plans if she were to be given her own mandate.

The Director of Elections Danville Walker has made it known that his office is behind the idea of a fixed election date. Not knowing the date clearly puts the office at a disadvantage in its preparations. This is obvious nonsense that can easily be cured.

Some critics have argued that a fixed election date would promote constant campaigning and speculation about candidates and leave the nation consumed by politics. The people who hold that view should look around in Jamaica today and say whether they don't already find those political conditions here, even without a fixed election date.

Fresh mandate

Perhaps the more serious argument is that a fixed date would keep a government in power, even if voters lose confidence in it and wanted it to return to them for a fresh mandate.

However, this need not be the case. Any change to the constitution could still allow the Prime Minister to retain the power to dissolve Parliament and hold elections if the people, through their representatives, declare their loss of confidence in the Government.

We don't have a rich history of parliamentarians voting against their party on crucial matters such as no-confidence motions. But, if the howls of their constituents are strong enough, perhaps they might be persuaded to do so.

A fixed election date is not without its problems but seems to be a far better option than what we have now.

Vernon Daley is a journalist. Send comments to: vernon.daley@gmail.com