Most Jamaicans want term limits for politicians - poll

 

Political commentator Damion Gordon says general distrust among Jamaicans of politicians is one of several reasons for the majority of the population remaining strongly in favour of term limits. 

 

A new RJRGLEANER-commissioned Don Anderson poll has shone the spotlight on the Holness administration's failure to act on its nine-year-old promise as another general election looms. 

 

The findings show that 76% of respondents believe all councillors and members of Parliament should face term limits, while 78% say prime ministers should also have a cap on their time in office.

 

The survey was conducted among 1,033 registered voters, aged 18 and older, between May 18 and June 7. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3%. 

 

Speaking Monday on the Morning Agenda on Power 106, Mr. Gordon said the state of Jamaica's democracy, including weak oversight, reinforces views that there is fertile ground for corruption, especially the longer politicians remain in their positions.

 

"So we have a spectrum that we may use to rank the health of democracies. And while Jamaica does well in terms of certain basic requirements, such as the holding of general elections and protecting basic civil liberties, we perform poorly along other critical dimensions. We have very limited checks and balances, meaning that rarely are politicians sanctioned for behaviours that run contrary to the expectations of voters. It's a lack of transparency in terms of what elected officials do, in terms of how they spend money allocated to them for their respective constituencies, also in terms of how they raise funds and what they do with these funds during campaign seasons," he argued. 

 

Pollster and CEO of Market Research Services, Don Anderson, who was also a guest on the programme, said the findings on term limits are consistent with another public opinion poll done in 2023.

 

"Again, pretty strong perception, pretty strong view that there should be a limit on the number of years that parliamentarians and councillors on the one hand and the Prime Minister on the other should serve office. That's basically the findings from this particular thing. Of course, we analysed it in terms of gender and age groups, as well as by...how people were intending to vote, whether PNP support or JLP support or no support."

 

Mr. Anderson noted that younger voters, especially those aged 18 to 34 years, were particularly strong on the issue, while support declined slightly among seniors 65 and older, though two-thirds in that group still backed the idea of term limits. 

 

From a voter intention perspective, the latest Don Anderson poll found that 78% of People's National Party supporters back term limits for MPs and councillors, when compared with 70% for Jamaica Labour Party supporters. 

 

Among the undecided and those not likely to vote, support for term limits remained strong at 77.5% for the undecided and 78.5% for those who say they will withhold their vote. 

 

Mr. Anderson gave a further breakdown of the findings along party lines and age groups. 

 

"When you have a number which is as high as 77%, you can expect that across the demographic spectrum, you will have virtually the same levels of support going across. And that is what we found in this particular situation. Of course, when you looked at it from a political perspective, you found that more persons who said they would vote for the People's National Party felt that there should be term limits. But this does not take away from the fact that the significant number of people who say they would vote for the Jamaica Labour Party also feel that way.... So it cuts across party lines for sure. And it's being supported by persons right across the demographic spectrum in terms of age groups as well and by gender," he pointed out.