Dear Editor,

As we move toward another election season it is quite clear that the suffocating dominance of the two major political parties has not been good for Jamaica. For those who thought that after 2007 the JLP would bring something different – some of the ideas of the NDP, for example – they could not be more disappointed. There is little to choose between JLP and PNP. Both parties seek only to get their hands on power and then forget the welfare of the country. After forming a government all the pre-election promises and programmes are quickly forgotten. The solution to this sad state of affairs lies in changing the constitution to remove the special privileges of the two major tweedledum and tweedledee political parties and make it easier for any party to contest an election.

Instead of having 60 constituencies, each party should offer a slate of candidates and the seats should be awarded based on the proportion of the votes cast for any party. This way there would be a national government with representatives who are able to see the best interests of the entire country alongside their own and their party’s interest. This is no guarantee that it would produce good government but it has weakened the control of the two dominant parties, and that might be the beginning of real change in Jamaica.

Leon Jones

Spanish Town

St Catherine