JAMAICA NOW has the distinction of being the first country in the world to implement an electronic system of voter identification using fingerprints to safeguard against fraud. But having the dubious distinction of leading the world in this direction speaks volumes about the fraudulence which has over the years infiltrated and corrupted our electoral system. The hijacking of the electoral system in pockets of the country and the stuffing of ballot boxes with multiple votes by individuals in the service of their political party have become ugly features of the electoral process.
No one pushed harder for electronic voting than Edward Seaga while Leader of the Opposition and of the JLP and Member of Parliament for Western Kingston. It is therefore fitting that elements of a system of electronic voting are to be used in the West Kingston by-election to replace him as Member of Parliament for that constituency.
In a system of competitive electoral politics, some constituencies have been able to achieve the distinction of having anywhere from 75 per cent to over 100 per cent of the votes cast going to one candidate. The National Committee on Political Tribalism identified these constituencies as clear garrisons.
So far, this systematic 'organisation' of votes in a particular area has not determined the overall outcome of national elections. But the arrangement has made a mockery of the hallowed democratic principle of one person, one vote in free and fair and free from fear elections to choose representatives of the people. The lack of rigid enforcement of the Representation of the People Act, with its ample provisions for free and fair elections, left loopholes for exploitation by unscrupulous persons.
It is to counter this cancerous fraudulence that the Electoral Advisory Committee has been moving in the direction of electronic voting. When the bills allowing for the amendments have been enacted into law it is up to the Prime Minister to announce a date for the West Kingston constituency by-election where the new anti-fraud electronic system will have its first constituency-wide test.
We urge the Prime Minister to avoid the undue delay which took place in calling by-elections in other constituencies which lost their MPs during his tenure. All the people deserve proper representation in the Parliament.
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