Dear Editor,

What do D K Duncan, Christopher Tufton, Lloyd B Smith, Sharon Hay-Webster, and Raymond Pryce have in common? All are high-profile names and popular personalities who have been defeated, politically.

Add to that the political struggles of Lisa Hanna, Damion Crawford and Juliet Cuthbert and the picture is even clearer: The Jamaican electorate has matured beyond its awe of and attraction to easily recognised names and faces or fancy resumes.

While to some this may be an affront, to others this signals the growing sophistication of the Jamaican electorate, which is now demanding effective representation and quality service delivery from elected officials. Gone are the days when the gift of gab or a popular face or financial capital was the sole requirement for elected office in Jamaica. The electorate is demanding much more

Many of them have developed an over-reliance on social media as the main tool of communicating with the masses. While the utilisation of social media as a political platform is inevitable due to the vast penetration in recent times, over-reliance on social media will be the bane of the new political class since social media is not a substitute for the face-to-face interaction craved by a more sophisticated electorate.

The cry of Jamaican voters that they not only see politicians at election time is deafening. It is now obviously unacceptable at the level of the party faithful. Social media should be a welcomed complement not a substitute for face-to-face interaction in the new political dispensation.

As an active but retiring local politician touted recently, “All politics is local”, so the misguided belief of popular personalities that their presence on social media is equivalent to quality leadership and effective representation is a fatal conceit.

Phillip A Chambers

phillipdcchambers@gmail.com