JTA should utilise the EOJ for its annual elections
Dear Editor,
As a member of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) it is my fervent belief that the time has come for the organisation to begin to utilise the Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ) to conduct its yearly elections.
Over the years we have seen a number of the JTA election results being challenged by candidates and there are other times when the results are questionable based on the method used to have its members casting a ballot.
There are also widespread allegations that there have been instances when a random member did not vote and a ballot may be secretly cast on his/her behalf.
In 2014 presidential candidate Georgia Waugh-Richards went to the Supreme Court seeking of an injunction barring Norman Allen from the post of president-elect.
After a recount, conducted by the EOJ, Norman Allen came out as the victor. The vote count by the EOJ showed that Allen had received 5,977 votes, compared with 5,798 votes for Waugh-Richards, hence reversing an earlier count by the standing committee of the JTA’s General Council, which had Waugh Richards as the winner by 83 votes.
This time around, COVID-19 has caused the JTA to explore online voting, but not without its fair share of issues and leaving many asking questions about potential duplication of votes. This has embarrassingly caused the 2021-2022 president-elect polls to be suspended for a brief period.
The current president of the association, Jasford Gabriel, subsequently said that all checks that should have been completed by the JTA were not done.
Following this disaster, the JTA announced two days of face-to-face voting, which were also pushed back from the original dates.
Notwithstanding the efforts of the JTA, the method of face-to-face voting by teachers is one that is very untidy and raises myriad questions.
If the JTA wants its teachers, and more so its yearly candidates, to have confidence in its election process, then it is high time the organisation considers utilising the EOJ to conduct its annual elections.
Leecent Wallace
leecentw@yahoo.com
