A.W. SangsterThe JAS Elections:
IN A previous column (August 7) I called into question the legitimacy of the Jamaica Agricul-tural Society Elections which were held in July. At the time I supported the position of Ambas-sador Peter King that there should be fresh elections. The options at the time seemed to be:
Fresh elections supervised by the EOJ.
Acceptance of the results by the two candidates with agreement to work together.
Acceptance of the results but with an agreement to have an overhaul of the election system.
Having spoken at length with both presidential candidates I am now of the view that under the circumstances the third option which was the one taken was the best in the circumstances. It is clear however from the report of the Executive Director of the JAS that there were serious flaws in the process, but nonetheless the results could be accepted.
President Bobby Pottinger has assured me of the full co-operation of Norman Grant for the good of agriculture. Much is at stake and the JAS is critically in need of review of its position on the national scene. This column wishes re-elected President Pottinger full recovery from a nasty motor car accident and hopes that the board, winners and losers will move together in the nation's interest.
The National Election System: The apex of the national electoral system consists of the Electoral Advisory Committee and the Electoral Office of Jamaica. Both organisations have been embroiled in controversy recently and there are a number of issues that need to be addressed.
The re-appointment of the independent EAC members.
The Peralto patent.
The cancellation of the September 7th demonstration of the voter ballot generation system by the Director of Elections.
The re-appointment of the independent EAC members: The three independent members are Mr. William Chin See (QC) Professor Gerald Lalor and Mrs. Corrine McLarty. The two major political parties each have two attending members, but only one vote. The term of office of the independent members has expired and there is no consensus on their reappointment. The issue has therefore been referred to the Governor-General.
My own view is that the independent members have operated in a professional and independent manner and have been subjected to a great deal of abuse from the JLP and some talk show hosts.
The Peralto Patent: The correspondence between Mr. Peralto and the EAC members rules out any sense that he acted in any underhand or devious way. The issues therefore that are outstanding are the use of the patented centralised system in terms of its application to Jamaica's decentralised voting system and the naming of the trust in his name.
Mr. Peralto is quoted as saying "He did it for Jamaica". If he is serious about this statement then the honourable thing to do is to set up a trust which would be national in its overall outlook and thus avoid the perception of being linked to a particular political personality and party.
The cancellation of the September 7th election systems demonstration by Mr. Walker: Three overseas companies were supposed to demonstrate their ability to use fingerprint identification as a means of generating a ballot. This was to be the centrepiece of phase 2 of the voting system and was predicated to be the final plank in the anti-corruption initiatives. It seems that some people have forgotten that any technological system that people create can be corrupted. That's why we have computer viruses!
It is not possible to legislate technology for morality. This also does not take into account the implications of intimidation by party activists on Election Day. Mr. Seaga has attacked Danville Walker for his decision and some senior JLP executives have argued that he acted illegally. The question for the JLP is this: Since the EAC is now not properly constituted, who would make the decisions on the choice of the system to be used?
Are we by default to assume that if the demonstrations were allowed to proceed there would be another hassle between the JLP and the PNP members as to which system would be used. The JLP could very well then say - if there is a disagreement, which is highly likely - that, the PNP is holding up progress.
On a personal note, my father was one of the last of the old-time politicians who represented a parish (St. Elizabeth) and not a political party and he advised me to keep out of politics. This advice I have steadfastly kept. However the family name is clearly associated with the JLP and founder Sir Alexander Bustamante and my cousin Donald, who did much to build the party and once headed it as the Prime Minister of this country, must both be turning in their graves when they see the current disaster that is the JLP. This disaster is one of the major threats to democracy in this country and not the implementation of a fancy electoral system.
A.W. Sangster is former President of the University of Technology.
