Poll after poll has revealed that most Jamaicans of voting age have very little, if any, interest in participating in the democratic processes which determine who represents them at the divisional, constituency, and national levels.

In the 2020 General Election, notwithstanding the overwhelming victory of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), which saw the Andrew Holness-led green team winning 49 of the 63 seats up for grabs, the voter turnout was alarmingly low. In political science, voter apathy is a lack of interest in the elections of representative democracies. This leads to low voter turnout, which, in essence, is a clear and present danger to the democratic process.

Columnist Christopher Burns wrote the following in the aftermath of the 2020 General Election: “There is no need for anyone to pussyfoot around the causation of voter apathy and the correlation between that and recent low voter participation rates. No prime minister, however well celebrated and youthful, can take comfort in the fact that the Government he or she leads rests on a measly 21.3 per cent of registered voter support. No Opposition party is worth its salt if it can only garner 16 per cent of registered voter support. Governance is most difficult when upwards of 66 per cent (6.6 out of every 10 voters) stand in stark disagreement or indifference to the policies and programmes by which that Government was elected.”

This record low turnout at the time did not escape Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who, “though overjoyed at securing the largest margin of victory in decades, recognised that there was reason to be concerned. Said he: ‘There is cause for celebration, but there is also significant cause for consideration. There are many Jamaicans who did not participate; there are many Jamaicans who, for fear of the virus, did not come to the polls; and some for other reasons — apathy, frustrations — decided not to participate”.

Fast-forward to 2023 and a June People’s National Party (PNP) Don Anderson poll paints the same gloomy picture. Of the 1,012 people polled, when asked about their intention to vote if an election were called now, 30.2 per cent said they would vote for the PNP and 24 per cent said they would vote for the JLP. And this comes against the backdrop of 53.3 per cent saying the country is going in the wrong direction.

In March of this year, Director of Elections Glasspole Brown is reported as saying that the Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ) would be undertaking a public education campaign designed to address the increasing apathy among eligible voters. Unfortunately, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Only recently a JLP operative expressed concern to me that his check with the electoral office in his neck of the woods revealed that people weren’t showing much interest in getting enumerated. So while the ruling JLP and the Opposition PNP squabble and fiddle over polls and other seemingly trivial matters that are of very little concern to the wider society, Rome burns.

Jamaica’s quest towards democracy began with the hardship endured by our national heroes and heroine during the period of slavery leading into colonialism and ultimately political Independence. Paul Bogle, George William Gordon, and Sam Sharpe paid with their blood, sweat, and tears, and ultimately their lives. Hundreds of our foreparents paid the ultimate price for us to gain our freedom, which we are now taking for granted. Indeed, it is fair to say that we are betraying their sacrifices and trust by now refusing to take part in how this country is governed and should be governed, even as we move towards becoming a full-fledged republic, finally wresting the last vestiges of our of colonial connections.

In this context, the future looks bleak if the majority of Jamaicans prefer to remain on the fence and allow narrow-minded, self-serving partisan hacks to determine our political future. Many self-respecting countries have gained their freedom and independence through revolutions while we have evolved to this point. But one wonders if the time come for a revolution rather than this painful evolutionary process, being skilfully engineered by a few, that may likely lead to anarchy or despotism in the long run.

This may sound far-fetched, but the harsh reality is that there is too much focus on the current political leadership who, for the most part, comes across as tinsel warriors, forever putting their respective party first instead of country.

Oh for a Moses to set my people free! Free from mental slavery, free from narrow partisan pursuits, free from rabid materialism and individualism, free from inferiority complex and self-hatred.

Suffice it to say, it seems our inept education system and the highly touted new constitution may ultimately enslave rather than liberate us if there is not a greater level of discourse and meaningful participation from the grass roots up.

Although reggae icon Burning Spear sang ominously, “Do you remember the days of slavery?” and Marcus Garvey posited that we must understand our past in order to deal with the present and the future, unfortunately, the average Jamaican seemingly has very little knowledge or appreciation of his or her past and so is easily influenced by a rapidly changing world in which self-worth and determination give way to decadence and self-gratification.

Yes, voter apathy is not just a Jamaican phenomenon, it is worldwide, but in our case we are yet to have a firm, resilient people-focused structure that can withstand the vagaries of political one-upmanship. So even as we review this turgid landscape from slavery to apathy, every well-thinking citizen should become more involved and concerned about where this good ship Jamaica is headed, lest it flounders on the rocks of apathy and neglect.

It has been said that bad politicians are elected by citizens who do not vote.

Lloyd B Smith has been involved in Jamaican media for the past 47 years. He has also served as a Member of Parliament and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives. He hails from western Jamaica where he is popularly known as the Governor. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or lbsmith4@gmail.com.