One of the great hallmarks of the western political system is that of the ability to operate in and around that of a democratised society.

The ability for citizens to feel enabled and empowered within the political process is one that can foster growth and innovation. The idea of democracy stems from an ancient ideology from Greek school of thought. The idea first appeared in the town of Athens, where Cleisthenes is thought to be the father of this ideology.

Despite achieving Universal Adult Suffrage in 1944, many Jamaicans, if asked, still feel as if they are disconnected from the decision-making process that makes up the governance of our country, despite living and operating within a democratic environment. The issue of feeling disconnected from the political process has been one of the major hindrances that has led to the huge levels of voter apathy that we have been experiencing in Jamaica. For the general election that was held in 2016, the country recorded one of its lowest voter turnouts — 47.7 per cent— which translates that the minority of the electorate elected the country’s Government, or the battle of the political bases.

The question which should guide our decision going forward is, how we can increase this voter turnout to have a political process which is attractive and inclusive to a wider cross section? The issue of feeling disconnected is one that has been a sticking point for many independent individuals. The issue of voter disconnect is rooted in the issue of the culture of our politics, from conversations while walking and speaking with a wide cross section of residents, there is a general notion that most elected representatives are, simply put, not doing their fair share of work.

A large cross section of residents across many communities, even though they may see macro development, many believe that their local representatives are ineffective and missing and they have no say in the representation that they receive.

Any development that occurs has the potential to impact the lives of the current population and the future life to come. As such, before the taking on of initiatives, widespread consultation should be done. This is a practice lacking by many who operate within the current political space. The objective of my time as an elected representative, if given the opportunity by the residents of St Thomas Eastern, would be that of creating an atmosphere where the politics is transparent and inclusive. Ironically, one would think democracy, which is associated with the opposing party, is not practised in St Thomas Eastern.

Direct democracy is most suitable for such a constituency. This governing structure requires direct participation from citizens in politics. St Thomas residents have been lacking fundamental rights for far too long which can foster real development. Several styles of governance and leadership have been practised, obviously none has manufactured maximum results, hence decisions now have to be made transparently and with full participation of every stakeholder in the constituency.

Michael Manley, in 1991, stated, “Any realistic vision of change must be based on the notion of empowerment of people”. Through the fostering of transparency and amplifying the voices of residents, this will allow a crystalline image of the developmental goals that we will work towards as a constituency, so that the vision and mission are entrenched in the minds of all. To achieve this, there has to be a systematic approach of governance where we work from the micro to the macro, from the grass roots of people to the executive.

To create the inclusive nature of governance, it begins from the community, where each community has an independent and non-biased citizens’ association which operates as an oversight body that identifies issues affecting communities, where this community organisation will meet as a general congress with community members who choose the executive members at the community level. This community organisation then feeds into another divisional body that is independent and non-biased, which is tasked with identifying challenges within the scope of area that it covers and make recommendations. The divisional body will then feed into an executive body that is chaired by the Member of Parliament. Through this systematic approach a governance of inclusivity can be created, developmental projects will be selected in a transparent manner that fosters accountability and true development that residents can see.

The duty of elected representatives is to serve, and as such they are servants of the people and any development that is pursued should be in the interest of the majority and the greater good of all members.

Any fair chance of having positive change must be built by the connecting of hearts, minds, brains, talents and voices together to bring about the real prosperity that the people deserves.

Dr Michelle Charles is a dental surgeon and the Jamaica Labour Party’s candidate for St Thomas Eastern in the next general election.