Editorial | Securing democracy

It would have been a confidence-shattering blow if the elections monitoring group, Citizens Action for Free and Fair Elections (CAFFE), was fearful that it mightn’t raise the money for its observation of Jamaica’s imminent general election.

If that were the case it would be a statement of misplaced priorities by corporate Jamaica and of a willingness to depend on others to protect the island’s democracy.

And in any event, J$20 million – which CAFFE’s chairman, Grace Baston, suggested will be the high end of her organisation’s budget – is not, in the context of the mission, a lot of money.

But having gotten over the immediate hurdle, the issue for CAFFE is to find a sustainable funding model to maintain itself as a viable organisation engaged not only in periodic observation of elections, but also, as this newspaper believes it should be, a consistent promoter of democracy and citizens’ involvement in the political process. Indeed, with respect to the latter, CAFFE already has more than an outline of one element of a work programme in its recruitment of high school students as election monitors.

CAFFE has been around for 28 years. During that time it has been the leading domestic observer of Jamaican elections, with a reputation for honesty and integrity, untainted by partisanship. That hard-won reputation has caused it to be called on by other Caribbean jurisdictions to monitor their elections.

Up to recently the organisation received funding from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), until Donald Trump shut down USAID and froze US foreign assistance programmes.

PROFOUND QUESTIONS

Happily, CAFFE hasn’t collapsed. More importantly, the loss of foreign financial assistance has caused it to ask profound questions of itself, including whose obligation it really is to protect Jamaica’s democracy.

Ms Baston said: “It was great to have funding from foreign sources. However, I think what this is doing is calling us to answer for ourselves: ‘Are we serious about its protection and preservation?’ ”

Insofar that an answer is forthcoming, it thus far appears to be positive. Several companies, according to Ms Baston, “have been generous in their responses”.

However, the amount that CAFFE needs for the monitoring of the coming election is a relative pittance, compared to what firms (not necessarily the ones that are contributing CAFFE) donate to political parties and their candidates for campaigns – as well as outside the election season. Much of this is not altruistic, philosophical support for democracy. Some represent an attempt at securing private interests with whoever forms the government.

In modern political dispensations, this approach has become a default, which poses the danger of those with the deepest pockets being able to ‘purchase’ the democracy they wish.

LIMIT POSSIBILITY

There are a number of ways to limit this possibility of state capture, or elements of it. One of these, as this newspaper has consistently called for, is greater and more robust transparency in political party and election campaign financing. Another rests with organisations like CAFFE, which help to ensure that elections are free and fair, in the fullest sense, as well as support, even if indirectly, voter engagement.

For example, CAFFE has been recruiting high school students as election monitors. For the February, 2024 municipal elections it deployed 400. For the general election, which, constitutionally, should take place by the end of this year, CAFFE hopes to recruit as many as 1,000 students.

“If you can convince a dozen teenagers to leave their homes on election day, especially if they are studying for elections, if you can convince them at a polling station as 6:30 in the morning and remain there until up to 7 p.m., observing, recording and reporting, you are attacking the debilitating voter apathy that characterises so many young people,” Ms Baston said.

We agree. Except that the apathy and disengagement transcends the youth. The voter turnout in the 2020 general election didn’t quite reach 38 per cent.

CAFFE is onto something. We, however, want it to do more.