Low voter turnout an indication Jamaicans dissatisfied with both parties - commentators

By Kimone Witter    

 

Political commentator Germaine Barrett says Monday's low voter turnout in the Local Government Election could be an indication of the level of dissatisfaction among Jamaicans with the management of issues affecting them.

 

Based on the preliminary counting of ballots, the voter turnout for the local government election is 29.6 per cent, compared with 30 per cent in 2016.

 

Mr. Barrett says the disinterest among average Jamaicans toward politics is unfortunate and Monday's turnout was a huge waste of the $2 billion election spend by the Electoral Commission of Jamaica.

 

He says Jamaica Labour Party leader and Prime Minister Andrew Holness in his speech at Belmont Road on Monday evening, correctly diagnosed the problem as Jamaicans being dissatisfied with the service at the parish level.

 

Mr. Barrett, who is also the founder and Executive Director of the Jamaican Association for Debating and Empowerment, says the JLP and People's National Party lost an opportunity to connect with Jamaicans during the Local Government debates. 

 

"On the JLP side, for example, you hear them saying, well, you know, we have fixed markets, we fixed roads, we have provided water, we've done all of these things, and the reality on the ground, as the Prime Minister has diagnosed is that, yes, we have done the macroeconomic things, and we've done those right, to his credit to his administration's credit. But what we haven't done enough of is attend to the local government issues. We have not fixed the roads, we have not cleaned the drains, we have not provided the water supply to a great enough extent to cause people to be satisfied with governance," he reasoned. 

 

Mr. Barrett said amid the revelry from the election results, there is much work to be done by both major political parties.

 

He said they need to become more people centered. 

 

"One of the major themes coming out of the campaign has been the need for the officials, the councillors, the mayors to relate more, interact more and gauge the opinions, the sentiments of their constituents, the people in the divisions. That has not been happening enough. And I think, again, the Prime Minister, in his great wisdom has caught on to something and has designed, for example, the SPARK programme to engage people, to get their opinion, to get their input in terms of the decisions as to how government money is spent. I think that's a start."  

 

In the meantime, Mr. Barrett said he anticipates a competitive atmosphere and a year-long or more campaign in the country leading up to the next general election.

 

He said the competitiveness between the two main political parties is expected to intensify, especially with the PNP coming away with the popular vote and winning more divisions in Monday's Local Government Election than it did in the previous poll in 2016.

 

Mr. Barrett was speaking with TVJ's Smile Jamaica hosts Simone Clarke and Dahlia Harris.

 

 

At the same time, political commentator Damion Gordon has described the low voter turnout in Monday's election as concerning for democracy.

 

Speaking Tuesday on the Morning Agenda on Power 106FM, Mr. Gordon said a low voter turnout has implications for the perceived legitimacy of any party that takes power.

 

He said this means the winning political party is elected to office with limited approval of the electorate.

 

At the same time, Mr. Gordon added that those who did not vote are also sending a strong message to the political parties. 

 

"The reality is that not voting is actually a vote of no confidence in either political party. So more than 70% of the registered voters basically said that we have no confidence, we have no faith in either of the two political parties. We cannot be bothered to be engaged with the electoral political process," he asserted.