IN the distance I hear the bells ringing and the trumpets blowing as the excitement builds up into an election frenzy. Not quite a general election on November 10, but if the circle holds true and the hype and hoopla carries over after the JLP leadership election race then the bet is that a general election will be on the agenda shortly thereafter.

Not that I expect the PNP to give in so easily to any JLP demand, but call it or not, people are licking their lips in anticipation of another distraction. Don’t get me wrong. A general election is not what we need at this time. We will need a period to rest, as those of us who have been following the internal duel are exhausted just from trying to catch up with what he said and what she said to whom, and when and where. I say let’s move back to the business of the country for a while before starting a new round of election tremors. Still, I look forward to November 10 and the usual anticipation and nervousness that accompanies an election night. Notice that no official polls have been commissioned to date, so it’s going to be anybody’s race going into the final stretch.

And one has to ask, suppose it ends in a tie. Who would have the casting vote? Are we facing a threehorse race come the next election? Who will make up the third party, and what would be the name? One of the most difficult jobs would be to choose a new symbol. Symbols are powerful sources of motivation in Jamaican politics. “I don’t care what symbol they select,” Eddie Seaga is reported to have said when the National Democratic Movement was formed. “Anyone of the 30 pieces of silver will do.” Political party symbols, well intentioned as they are, have often been a source of controversy between party rivals. The history of the ballot symbols used in our electoral system provides a ready case study.

For those who came in late, it may be instructional to know that it was not always the head for the People’s National Party (PNP) nor the bell for the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP). Let us go back to the first general election held in Jamaica under total adult suffrage. When this election was called, in December 1944, it allowed, for the first time ever, all Jamaicans over the age of 21 years the right to vote. However, it was recognised that, because of the high rate of illiteracy, the majority of voters would not be able to read the names of the candidates on the ballot card. So it was decided, after much consideration and debate, that individual candidates, but not the parties, would be allocated a symbol that would allow the candidate to be easily identified. In those early days a system was worked out that assigned the first symbol to the candidate whose surname started with the earliest letter of the alphabet.

The next candidate in alphabetical line was given the second symbol, and so on, all in the alphabetical order of the candidates’ names. As to be expected, Jamaicans knew instantly how to get around this one. A hilarious situation arose where some candidates promptly changed their names by deed poll to begin with an A, or AA, in order to be assigned the popular Star, which was the first symbol on the list. Then there were other recorded cases where there was active jockeying to secure a symbol not only for its alphabetical advantage, but in cases where the symbol was thought to be a lucky one with some sort of spiritual power attached. It wasn’t until 1956 that the parties ended their squabbling by agreeing that all candidates representing one party should share the same symbol.

The PNP chose the head, and the JLP chose the hand, leaving the Chief Electoral Officer O M Royes to assign symbols to independent candidates. Then came the referendum of 1961, and the powers that be — mindful that the Federation campaign was not a political party campaign — agreed that the traditional party symbols should not be used. The PNP quickly decided to use the Federal flag for the campaign of ‘Federation Yes’ that they supported, while the JLP chose the Map of Jamaica for their ‘Federation No’. But, not so fast. Both parties ran into trouble with the electoral office over their choice. It was pointed out to Mr Norman Manley and Sir Alexander Bustamante that the use of symbols not listed under the law was illegal. Thus, it was then that the PNP ended up using the tree for the referendum campaign, and the JLP the bell.

The JLP were delighted with the bell which they rang with vigour and, as history would have it, the bell won the day. However, come the 1962 election, the following year, both parties had to return to the legal list. The JLP went back to their original symbol, winning the elections quite handsomely. Nevertheless, the bell was still a favourite for meetings and parades, and I recall a famous photograph of Bustamante on the night of the election laughing and ringing his bell with gusto while downing cases of victory champagne with his supporters. After the election the party instituted the bell as their official symbol. A certain amount of illiteracy at the polls may have seeped in over from 1944 into the 1962 campaign. There is the famous story in St Ann of the lady who held up the voting line for a long time while she cast her vote. When she finally emerged the angry voters outside challenged her, “Miss Daisy, why yu tek so long to mek yuh vote.?” In righteous indignation she tossed her head at them, “Oonu t’ink that deh head easy fi draw”.

And in the hills of Clarendon a party faithful blocked the door of the polling station and refused entry to all and sundry. When his candidate finally arrived to sort out the problem, he asked Mass Cutty why he blocked the door: “Lawd sah, dem have one head in deh sah an it no favour yuh.” So symbols can also be confusing. Over the years the parties have adopted various other symbols and practices said to be representative of the character of their organisation or their leader. Michael Manley used the rod of correction effectively in 1972, it was considered such a powerful symbol that the JLP produced a similar rod and claimed, in vain, that theirs was the “real McCoy”. The PNP’s clenched fist and “Comrade” greeting came out of its earlier socialist leanings in alliance with other socialist forces that used it as a sign of strength and fealty.

On the other hand, the JLP’s V-sign resembled England’s Sir Winston Churchill’s who used it to rally his nation towards victory in World War 11. The use of party colours is an excellent idea, but unfortunately taken to the extreme, where in Jamaica the colour of your shirt, dress, cap and even your car can be taken as a sign of party preference. During the election campaigns many have had to leave their favourite shirt in the wardrobe as they dare not venture out in to the streets wearing orange or green. So much for our maturity. It is high time to get away from this insidious and dangerous practice of using colours to brand persons as political opponents even if that is not so. At least, for this election only on November 10, we don’t have to worry. Guess what, both sides are green with envy.

Lance Neita is a communications and public relations specialist. He can be reached at lanceneita@hotmail.com