In this September 2006 photograph, Opposition Leader Bruce Golding (third right), along with Member of Parliament for Eastern St. Andrew, Dr. St. Aubyn Bartlett (second right), leads Jamaica Labour Party supporters on a tour of the constituency. Bartlett is now trailing PNP rival Professor Trevor Munroe in opinion polls in terms of who voters would chose as their representative if an electionwere held today. - Junior Dowie/Staff Photographer

Daraine Luton, Staff Reporter

A HISTORY of poor representation, coupled with disgust for the electoral process, is fuelling voter apathy in the St. Andrew East constituency, say residents.

Based on the findings of a recent survey of the constituency by Bill Johnson, some 26 per cent of the electorate there said that they would not vote if an election were called now. In addition, 48 per cent of constituents are undecided as to whom they would want as Member of Parliament (MP).

On a three-day visit to various sections of the constituency, The Gleaner found many of these undecided voters residing in the more affluent Mona division. The reason for their apathy is simple: "The face of politics over the years has not changed," one resident stated. "What you get every election are the same promises which are usually unfulfilled," another resident added.

Divorced from process

Gleaner investigations found that many persons have divorced themselves from the electoral process because they believe that successive Members of Parliament have not successfully represented their interests.

Four persons have represented the constituency of St. Andrew East since it was formed for the 1976 General Election. The first to do so was Keble Munn, who won in 1976 when there was a 81 per cent voter turnout. Edmund Bartlett succeeded Munn in the 1980 election, and lasted for 13 years before losing to Colin Campbell in 1993. Campbell, a two-time MP, had his train derailed by Dr. St. Aubyn Bartlett, Edmund's brother, who in 2002 won the seat for the Jamaica Labour Party.

Absentee MP

Dr. Bartlett, however, has been branded an 'absentee MP' in the constituency. Many residents say lack of presence and representation is nothing new, noting that for years they have been neglected by political representatives.

"Colin nuh do nuttin yah and dis one worse, so why mi must vote," reasoned one August Town man.

"Once you vote for them and they win they are gone ... it's about them, not us," an elderly man in Papine said.

Less than half a mile away, in Mona Commons, no fewer than 10 persons told The Gleaner that their MPs had always been failures.

"The last good MP wi have a di one weh dem kill," recalled a resident of Mona Commons in reference to Roy McGann, the PNP candidate who was killed on Nomination Day, 1980.

McGann was then MP for St. Andrew East Rural, which once included Mona Commons.

Many residents, when asked what they expect from their next Member of Parliament, said he must be committed to reducing crime in the constituency. As one woman puts it, "Wi want somebody fi guh from house to house and collect the gun dem and lock up di gunman."

The constituent, who works as a domestic helper in Mona, had just lost a son to the bullet, and though the crime did not happen in the constituency, fears that the national wave of violence could come close to home have been widely echoed.

In the most affluent parts of the constituency, many residents say issues of simply larceny must be addressed, while those in the lower socio-economic group, especially in areas such as Papine and August Town, would like the guns to stop barking in their communities.

One woman, who made it clear that she prefers PNP candidate Professor Trevor Munroe but will be abstaining from the polls, sums up voter apathy: "What you get every election are the same promises which are usually unfulfilled."