Orville Taylor | Vote please!

Make sure you go and put your ‘X’ on the ballot paper. Never mind the dissent from some of my Rastafarian ‘bredren’, that both parties represent King Charles’ government, in this ‘judgment.’ The most Honourable Marcus Mosiah Garvey just four years short of a century ago, was unambiguous as regards participation in electoral politics. He probably would not say for which of the current crop we should vote, however.

We, on this little piece of rock that rose from the Caribbean Sea, take for granted that we have the oldest democracy in the western hemisphere.

Back in 1929, fresh from deportation from the United States (US), Garvey came up with a template and a set of prescriptions for the uplift not just of the race but the Jamaican population. Truthfully, bear in mind the fact that Jamaica is indeed part of Africa demographically, with more than 95 per cent of the population at the time of Garvey being of African descent, whether or not they acknowledged it, he fully understood the importance of taking control of one’s destiny, making certain that election is held firmly with both hands.

A very astute Garvey formed the People’s Political Party (PPP), whose manifesto demonstrated that he understood the importance of being elected. Note however, that this was during a period when the average Jamaican did not have the unrestricted right to vote. That right was limited to persons who were direct taxpayers. This short list included owners of businesses, owners of property, and of course persons who had the various types of licences.

There is no equivocation that he believed that governance rested on the support of the majority of persons in the society, who earn income from wages and not from property. Prior to his departure to the US at the beginning of the 1900s, Garvey had formed a printers’ union and had attempted with very limited success to organise workers along the lines as trade unions were to do several decades later.

Importantly, he recognised that there had to be a relationship between trade unions on the one hand and political parties on the other. With this in mind, in his manifesto he recommended that these workers’ organisation step forward and form parties. Having been formed, these parties could step forward, become elected and place very firmly on the national agenda all matters which have to do with the improvement of the working class. This was a full decade before the People’s National Party (PNP) was inaugurated.

Now tell me, this was an era before individuals had the inalienable right to vote. Yet, among his recommendations within his manifesto were very strict standards regarding voter intimidation, vote buying and voter fraud. Even today, individuals who bleed green or orange cannot honestly say that they have abided with these hallowed recommendations and practices.

Even with his electoral failure, the insightful and ‘inciteful’ wisdom of this great Jamaican, is remarkable. Although he died four years before he saw it begin, Jamaica is the oldest democracy in the Americas.

Anyway, three debates went on over the past weeks, culminating with that between the leaders of both major parties. Whoever one believes was the winner, the last debate on Thursday was a debate of mastery and both leaders took body blows. We did not get all the answers. However let the grades come on the ballot paper.

What mattered, was that on national television, our leaders fought with wind and not arms and despite the occasional jab under the rib, there were not the missed lashes, usually used by my grandmother.

Whichever party wins the election, one thing is certain, the party leaders seem to have a pretty clear idea as to what happens if it wins the next election. The victor will be our prime minister.

But let me return to this assertion that Jamaica is the oldest and the most stable democracy in the Americas. We may wish to argue that Haiti having ejected the French and established its Republic, might have been independent earlier, but certainly it was not a democracy. There is one single element that is indispensable when determining whether democracy exists.

Nothing beats universal adult suffrage. This right we had since 1944. Indeed, we have bent over backwards with this right, because Commonwealth citizens resident in Jamaica for a short qualifying period, are eligible to vote. You know, in our great neighbours up north, only citizens can.

In Latin American countries, their nations and governance came via revolutions, caudillos and dons, who emerged from the ashes of their internal struggles. The rise of legitimate political leadership is mixed with rivers of blood. Latin America has had more coups than a pigeon coop (dovecot) and assassinations have been many.

The US, the product of a war for independence and a bloody civil war, took exactly 100 years after almost a million Americans died at the hands of other Americans, before a Supreme Court decision finally affirmed universal voting rights for all.

As stated in other columns, it was not until the 1950s that Canadians overcame some of the barriers preventing indigenous residents from voting. Only England and New Zealand had universal suffrage before us.

We should pride ourselves that never in our modern history, has there been an attempt to overthrow the results of an election or to assassinate our elected leader. Once the dust settles, the loser either licks its wounds or barks like a whipped Jamaican terrier over bought votes.

For the record this is not an attempt to tell you who to vote for. Let your conscience be your guide.

Orville Taylor is senior lecturer at Department of Sociology at The University of the West Indies, a radio talk-show host, and author of ‘Broken Promises, Hearts and Pockets’. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and tayloronblackline@hotmail.com