Preserving our democracy is vital
GIVEN the fiscal constraints within which the Government has been forced to operate under Jamaica’s agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), it is difficult, we accept, for the State to provide the type of funding that is needed to properly run vital institutions.
The upshot is that quite a number of sectors have had to be working miracles with the little that they are allotted.
The health sector comes easily to mind as one that is severely affected, as was reported in the pages of this newspaper in recent weeks.
The education sector, too, has been going through a tough time financially, and we have seen where public sector workers are now agitating for a salary increase, having been subjected to a wage freeze for well over five years.
Against that background, there are many people who will conclude that the Electoral Commission of Jamaica’s (ECJ’s) need for $4.2 billion to meet its mandate this year is excessive.
According to the ECJ, that total includes $2 billion for a voter reverification exercise and $1.2 billion to finance local government elections which are expected to be held by June.
The need, we accept, is huge, but it should not prevent the country from finding the funds and making the allocation, because its purpose is extremely important.
The preservation of our democracy, we hold, is most vital, and as such we should do all in our power to protect it.
However, we cannot ignore the fact that there is great merit in the argument for the staging of one election for parliamentary and parish council candidates.
Easily, the most important rationale for that proposal is the fact that it will save the country at least $500 million, as the arrangements associated with the holding of elections are not cheap. Just look at what the ECJ says it will cost for the local government poll — $1.2 billion!
Frankly, we can’t envisage anyone resisting this idea, as it is done in other jurisdictions. In fact, ECJ commissioner Mrs Dorothy Pyne-McLarty made that very point at the ECJ news conference on Wednesday, pointing out that she has seen it first hand.
Additionally, we need to start using elections to vote on issues with which the country has been grappling for years: Republican status and the buggery law are among those that come easily to mind.
Given the state of Jamaica’s finances, our legislators should jump at any opportunity to lower costs. It’s a no-brainer, really.
