"A CANDIDATE should be ashamed to represent or sit in the House knowing the level of malpractices that took place on the day, and I don't think we do enough to highlight that. We should highlight it so that a candidate feels uncomfortable representing that constituency..."
Those blunt words were the essence of the warning served on the so-called garrison constituencies, according to Director of Elections Danville Walker. He told the Gleaner's Editors Forum this week that the warning had been set out in writing.
In addition the Independent members of the Electoral Advisory Council had met with the candidates of both sides (obviously meaning PNP and JLP) to point out that even if they knew they were going to win they must "do it right."
If the EOJ detected over-voting, he said, "we are going to highlight those constituencies and speak about them in the sense of their right to sit in the House should be questioned and they should be embarrassed."
The tone and manner of the Director speaks to a new approach to the management of the election exercise. In essence the Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ) is prepared to take a very proactive stance in the conduct of the upcoming elections. The EOJ is displaying a degree of independence, which indicates that it is not bound by the dictates of the political parties or of the political directorate and is prepared to do its part to ensure that the elections are free and fair.
The EOJ has written to candidates in eight constituencies to indicate that the EOJ is prepared to have their seats declared void if it detects malpractices in their constituencies. According to Mr. Walker his letter to the candidates has placed them on notice that voiding of the elections would be done if the EOJ saw a certain trend that will interfere with free and fair elections.
By placing the candidates on notice the Electoral Office is placing the onus on them to ensure that the negative trends do not materialise. In taking this action the EOJ is placing the candidates in the position where they will not be able to explain away and blame breaches on the exuberance of their supporters.
As Mr. Walker puts it, candidates play a central role in the way their supporters behave. The clear suggestion is that the candidates need to control the behaviour of their supporters to ensure free and fair elections.
We applaud the Director and the EOJ and pledge our support for this bold approach to real electoral reform.
