Dear Editor,

The decision to enter representational politics must have been given serious thought by those who put themselves forward. In seeking a seat in Parliament, the candidate must realise that he or she will now be exposed to all Jamaica, whether he is from the district of Askenish in Hanover or Mount Vernon in St Thomas. The candidate’s once private life will no longer be so private after all. The voters will continuously be demanding more and more information about their representatives.

We are told that the candidates would have gone through rigorous scrutiny and interviews by the party – the PNP with its Integrity Commission and Selection Committee and the JLP with its Selection Committee. Having passed the fit and proper test, they must now be prepared for the scrutiny of the Jamaican people.

It is the nature of politics for the Opposition to research the past of the opponent and present the facts to the public. Nothing is wrong with that. So I am a bit surprised when high-profile candidates put themselves forward to represent the people and the impression is given in some quarters that questions of past actions should not be asked of them because of the service they might have given to the country in the past.

Anyone who is not willing to be exposed to public scrutiny must not enter politics. The spotlight should shine on all of them. When the campaign heats up, more and more information will emerge on the candidates. Those who are not willing for factual details on them to be revealed have all the time to withdraw their candidacy before nomination day.

The political parties should help the electorate by giving us information on the candidates that will help us to make informed decisions. It amazes me that with an imminent election, the JLP and PNP websites in November 2011 are giving very little information on their candidates.

Commendation is in order for Olivia “Babsy” Grange who had nothing to hide and posted her profile, including her date of birth. Except for a few more in the JLP such as Clive Mullings, Christopher Tufton, Kenneth Baugh, Mike Henry, Ruddy Spencer, Daryl Vaz and Robert Montague, there is hardly any information on the others. Mr Vaz and Mr Montaque posted reasonably good profiles. These two are indeed the consummate salesmen. No wonder they pose such a great challenge to their opponents. However, they need to post their ages also, bearing in mind that they are among those who consistently push the age factor in our politics today.

In the PNP, the Opposition Leader Mrs Portia Simpson Miller led her party’s charge in posting a comprehensive profile on the website, including her date of birth. Very good profiles are also posted for Fitz Jackson, Peter Bunting, Wykeham McNeil, Cedric Stewart, Valenton Wint, Damion Crawford, Julian Robinson, Lisa Hanna and a few others. Of great interest is the fact that Phillip Paulwell, the Opposition spokesman on energy, science and technology, had no profile posted on his party’s website. It is hard to believe! While in many instances the PNP posted the date of birth of their candidates, the same cannot be said of the JLP.

Why would young people like Dr Dayton Campbell, Lisa Hanna, Leonard Green and Damion Crawford not post their date of birth on their party’s website? In this modern age of political maturity, voters want to know the ages of their political representatives including women candidates.

My daughter, a critical thinker and a first-time voter, was taken aback when she looked up the candidates in our area and realised that there is no information on any of them – neither JLP nor PNP. She does not go to political meetings and she wants to assess information on the candidates. She is not going to vote for a party but for the person who will carry her best interest to Parliament. So where can she get the information on the candidates?

I am urging the parties, the JLP and the PNP, to post complete profiles of the candidates on their websites, including their ages, so that we can be better informed.To think of it, there might hardly be a difference in average age between the parties.

Hubert McIntyre

Torado Heights, Montego Bay

St James

hihubert@yahoo.com