In 1983 when then prime minister and Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Leader Edward Seaga called a snap general election on an old voters’ list, which the Michael Manley-led People’s National Party (PNP) objected and boycotted, there was great fear that Jamaica was on its way to becoming a full-fledged dictatorship as a result of the frightening reality of a one-party Parliament.

After all, “Maas” Eddie, at the time, was accused by many of his detractors of having such autocratic tendencies, especially after his “one don” utterance aimed at silencing his challengers and most strident critics.

However, much to his credit, Seaga set out to allay such fears by inviting a number of prominent and credible citizens to sit in the Senate (Upper House) as Independents, thus not allowing the JLP-controlled House of Representatives (Lower House) to do as it pleased.

Fast-forward to 2024 and there are growing jitters that the ruling JLP, with its overwhelming majority in the Lower House and a comfortable edge in the Upper House, has been showing signs of autocratic tendencies in how it deals with governance issues as well as parliamentary procedures and practices.

The recent seemingly callous and invidious manner in which House Speaker Juliet Holness dealt with the outgoing House clerk, while appearing to ignore the tenets of natural justice, has left a bitter taste in the mouths of many well-thinking Jamaicans.

Then there was that infamous walkout, led by the prime minister, during the budget contribution of Opposition Leader Mark Golding, thus bringing an abrupt end to the sitting of Parliament because of the lack of a quorum. This unprecedented move by Holness, who huffed and puffed as he exited that hallowed House, could only have had such a devastating effect on Golding’s speech because of the JLP’s overwhelming majority.

Intriguingly, Senator Peter Bunting’s justifiable attempts to complete the Opposition leader’s presentation in the Upper House so that it could be recorded in Hansard for posterity (and rightly so) were not welcomed by Deputy President of the Senate Charles Sinclair, which led to an unnecessary kerfuffle.

At the same time, we have seen on numerous occasions the Holness-led Administration ramming things down the throats of Opposition members without allowing them sufficient leeway to address issues of national import. And in this regard, to add fuel to the fire, the removal of Opposition members from chairing certain crucial committees in Parliament, a practice that was, in fact, introduced by a previous JLP leader and Prime Minister Bruce Golding (an honourable man) in order to allow for greater levels of oversight and accountability, has further exacerbated this dictatorial tendency of the Holness-led Administration.

In this same vein, the heavy-handed decision to have the Office of the Political Ombudsman subsumed in the Electoral Commission of Jamaica despite strident calls from the Opposition PNP and civil society is yet another glaring example of the Government using its big majority in a bullying way.

Then again, perhaps the icing on the cake is the tenuous relationship which exists between the Government and the Integrity Commission; the gag order; and the ongoing cloak-and-dagger mystery surrounding the so-called saga of the “Illicit Six”. All have been denying the people of this country one of the luxuries of our democracy, which is accountability, transparency, and probity in the handling of the people’s business, not the JLP’s or Prime Minister Holness’s business! Lest we forget, in Jamaican parlance, we must “tek sleep mark death”! And there is something known as a creeping dictatorship.

All of the above and other egregious actions and statements emanating from the Holness Administration and its operatives are in real terms a clear and present danger to our democratic way of life which our forefathers fought for and gained through blood, sweat, and tears, leading in some instances to death.

What is alarming is the almost cavalier way in which the Golding-led PNP has been tackling this threat. Even now it continues to smart and lose face in the way it has dealt with the controversial issue of Member of Parliament Juliet Holness, who is also the wife of Prime Minister Holness, being elevated to the post of Speaker of the House of Representatives. Instead of expressing its legitimate concerns from the very outset, it allowed the JLP to use its in-your-face majority to have her elected, to which they acquiesced without a murmur. Cho, man, do better than that!

To put it bluntly, notwithstanding its relatively minute minority, it must become “the little mouse that roared”. In 1983 when the PNP had absolutely no presence in Parliament, it took its message to the people, not just campaigning to win an election but to acquaint the nation with its principles and objectives, its vision, its raison d’etre as an alternative to the status quo.

This country is at a pivotal moment in its history as we contemplate ridding ourselves of the British monarchy once and for all on the road to becoming a republic. The national agenda, therefore, has many imperatives which are impatient of exposure and debate. Any self-respecting Opposition should seize the day (carpe diem) and take the bull by the horns.

In the meantime, in order to gain a greater level of trust from an increasingly cynical populace (go check social media, Prime Minister Holness), the Government should develop a more consultative approach on governance issues, which means involving the Opposition in its deliberations so that in the final analysis there can be national consensus on critical issues such as crime, integrity, corruption, law and order, and I could go on.

For starters, there should be an immediate resumption of the Vale Royal talks. When all is said and done, both Holness and Golding must be told that for any healthy democracy to flourish, it is the national interest that must be the number one priority, not party politics. Democracy and autocracy cannot coexist!

Lloyd B Smith has been involved in Jamaican media for the past 49 years. He has 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.