Dear Editor,

With the by-elections that have been called by Prime Minister Holness, I believe the issue that needs to be addressed is revising the policy on when elections are held.

The upcoming elections that were called are scheduled to be held on October 30, which is a Monday, the beginning of a business week. I am sure that many people are not very happy about this election being held on a Monday.

Many voters are going to arrive at work late or leave early or sneak out during lunch just to cast their ballots. Why? Because election day has been formally set on a particular day. Why is that?

The issue is currently confined to the constituencies up for elections; however, it speaks to a much wider issue. It is an issue we face every general election cycle: serious disruption to our daily routine in order to facilitate casting ballots. The critical question is, why can’t we have predetermined election days on a specified Sunday? Well, a part of the reason is that it is in the law.

According to the Representation of the People Act, a Prime Minister can call an election on any day he/she sees fit, with the exception of Sundays and public holidays.

This is out of date and is a major contributor to inefficient and ineffective democracy. As a result of this legislation, election officials have a difficult time preparing for elections. If the elections are called too early, the electoral office does not have sufficient time to get election-ready, while if the elections are delayed then the electoral office runs the risk of overpreparing and overspending.

This law also adds a high degree of uncertainty to the local economy. This is because businesses tend to withhold or delay investment due to uncertainty about the Government they will have to be doing business with. Another consequence of the current legislation is that businesses cannot plan for a slow-down in activity. As a result of this, there is a shortfall in revenue.

I believe that we should have fixed election days on a Sunday. This would solve major problems that plague our election process. First, it would eliminate the uncertainty as it pertains to calling elections by legislating exactly when an election will be held. Secondly, having these fixed elections on Sundays would eliminate disruption to businesses as well as general daily routines of the average Jamaican. Most importantly, it would increase voter turnout because most Jamaican have their Sundays off work and as such have the opportunity to go out and cast their votes without the need to worry about time.

Javon Moatt

VP Policy and Research

Generation Technology (GenTech)

moattj@hotmail.com