Dear Editor,

Some years ago I sat in a lecture theatre as an enthusiastic international relations freshman at The University of the West Indies when Dr Jermaine McCalpin asked the class a question: What is democracy? He went on to educate us that, according to former president of the United States Abraham Lincoln, “Democracy is government of the people, by the people, for the people.”

As I process the happenings within Jamaica’s political landscape at this time, I have concluded that the current Government is of the people, by the people, but I have too often questioned whether it is for the people.

I am taking into account the vacancies in seats across the country, both at the parliamentary and local government levels. On September 21, 2023, the nation was informed that former Member of Parliament (MP) for Trelawny Southern and then Speaker of the House Marisa Dalrymple-Philibert resigned as both MP and house speaker. Now almost one year later, the people of that constituency have been deprived of a parliamentary representative, they have been deprived of having someone to lobby for them and take care of their social and developmental needs.

Subsequent to that, on April 30, 2024, former councillor and deputy mayor of Morant Bay, Rohan “Washy” Bryan transitioned, and even though the Local Governance Act (2016) has instructions that clearly outline that the by-election to fill a vacancy in a municipal division must be held a day within three months after the vacancy was entered in the minutes of the council, the Government of the day has circumvented the constitution and refused to hold a by-election so that the people of the Morant Bay Division can be properly represented in the St Thomas Municipal Corporation.

It is, however, interesting to note that on September 3, 2024, Marsha Smith, MP for St Ann North Eastern resigned, and by the morning of September 4, 2024 the nation awoke to news that a by-election had been called in the same St Ann North Eastern seat. This by-election has been called at a time when the Trelawny Southern constituency and Morant Bay Division, which were vacant before St Ann North Eastern, are still waiting to be given the right to choose their representatives. What have the people of Trelawny Southern and Morant Bay Division done to deserve such abandonment?

If this is not a travesty and gross disrespect to the people of Jamaica, then I do not know what would constitute as such. This is indicative of a Government that does not take into account the rights of the people to have meaningful representation but is really only concerned about its own political expediency.

I am extremely concerned about the current path that we have been on as a country. In which modern democracy could a series of by-elections be due and a prime minister calls whichever one he/she sees fit? While we have adopted the British Westminster system of government, certainly a situation such as this would not have been entertained in Britain for a moment. As a country we need to hold our leaders accountable. The Government must understand that they are not running a private corporation but our national business, and every citizen has the right to be represented, not just the ones the prime minister sees fit.

I am using this platform to call on the Government to do right by the people of Trelawny Southern and Morant Bay Division as well. Otherwise, it sends a bad message to the people of Jamaica and the rest of the world that the Government’s priority is really not the people. At the same time, we also run the risk of calling our democratic framework into question.

Kimberley Thompson

kimberleythompson82@yahoo.com