Expectations for next three weeks

Published in the Jamaica Gleaner: Tuesday| August 7, 2007

In the tradition of Jamaica's political history and election campaigns, we expect today's nomination of at least 120 candidates from the island's two main parties and a promised nine from the National Democratic Movement, to be conducted in an atmosphere of civility and camaraderie.

The parties, working along with the Electoral Office of Jamaica, have worked out a staggered system, which should prevent any unnecessary confrontation between opposing camps. Of course, we have had examples in the recent past of rival partisans engaging in good-natured banter and dancing as their respective candidates turn up at the nomination centres to hand in their papers. Today's Nomination Day activities should be no different.

In a sense, this marks the first 'official' phase of this year's general election campaign. The next phase between today's proceedings and August 26, the eve of the elections, should be used more constructively than has been the pattern for most of the campaign so far. That is, for the parties and their representatives to engage the public in serious discussions about their vision for the way forward. We say this, not unmindful of the Jamaica Labour Party having published its manifesto last week, and before that its stated commitment to having the state assume full responsibility for tuition fees at the secondary level. The details of how some of its plans and proposalswould be implemented remain to be explained.

The governing People's National Party, on the other hand, still appears to be fine-tuning its document, in part, we assume, in response to the JLP's offering. With four consecutive terms in office spanning 18 years and the annual Throne Speech presented by the Governor-General, there may not be much more to say that has not already been said. We do believe, however, that in the context of Mrs. Portia Simpson Miller seeking her own mandate and presenting herself as representing some form of change from what preceded her, that the public has so far been short-changed by her failure to articulate a clear, personal vision for Jamaica's future. Charisma and charm notwithstanding, we still await the substance of her ideas.

As the parties step up the pace on the campaign hustings, it is incumbent on civil society to demand that the party leaders and the constituency candidates engage in rational, intelligent discussion, and not substitute hype and carnival for a vision for governance.

We concede that general plans as outlined in a manifesto are subject to change given the shifting circumstances of the international economy. But economic uncertainty should not be an excuse not to engage with the Jamaican electorate. The areas to be addressed are clear - among them, how to jump-start the economy so that we can have the kind of robust performance that our regional neighbours with less resources and facing the same international economic vagaries have; how to contain crime and violence; how to address deteriorating social infrastructure and under-performance in education and how to deal with the arthritic justice system.

During the next three weeks, the parties must strive, even more than they have in the past, to give better supervision to the way their supporters conduct themselves on the roads, to and from meetings. They must also rein in the tendency to engage in intemperate platform speeches that serve only to inflame anger and hostility towards their political opponents.

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