Elections and democratic habits

Next year, including T&T, there are expected to be as many as nine Caribbean general elections. Already, the political forces are vigorously massing in Anguilla, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and St Kitts and Nevis. And there is the possibility of an electoral contest in deeply troubled Haiti.

Meanwhile, the collapse of the coalition government in Sint Maarten has led to July elections - only six months after voters went to the polls. But outside of this, and so far, regional election addicts will have to wait until next year to bring out past election reports, scoresheets, and arrive at informed predictions.

So far this year, we have had local government elections in Belize and Jamaica, internal PPP elections in Guyana earlier this month, and on June 17 T&T holds two local government by-elections but not before June 15 when UNC members vote to choose key party operatives, not including their political leader.

Differences in internal electoral processes attract varying degrees of public interest in the mechanics of such contests, but they provide interesting clues into the democratic habits of the people and organisations that pursue occupation of national office.

Confidence in the systems that install leaders at that level necessarily translates into the way independent-minded electorates weigh their options when it is time to either accept or reject invitations for national support.

This must have been considered when the PNM moved away from its longstanding (and often controversial) “delegate system,” for internal elections, to “one-man-one vote” a little over a decade ago. The UNC should also be reading the room when it comes to the conduct of its own affairs. The current situation appears untidy.

The messages the party’s delegation took to the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) on May 1 should now correspondingly be key areas of focus for the party’s Election Management Committee (EMC).

Elsewhere, and within recent years, there has also been cause for grave concern regarding countries to which we once paid attention as models worthy of emulation.

This has, of course, occurred elsewhere in the past - with democratically elected leaders moving to undermine the bases of even their own selection through autocratic, anti-democratic behaviour.

Even so, there is little doubt that recent electoral decision-making around the globe has not always conduced to more democratic conditions. Witness recent electoral outcomes in Europe and Latin America, for example - relatively free and fair events producing results that do not necessarily reflect democratic values.

It can also be said that our big neighbour, the United States, at this moment does not present us with official behaviour that encourages broad or real political participation, while the politics of the United Kingdom are now more frequently offering lessons in the absurd.

Everywhere there appear to be conditions for re-examining electoral decision making to ensure more faithful observance of the needs of populations and application of principles to make life better for people.

Elections and their accompanying campaigns ought to signal levels of commitment to such an idea beyond the harnessing of votes.

On July 28, for example, the people of Venezuela vote at a time when an honest dialogue is needed to address the indisputable circumstances that led to a mass exodus of citizens over recent years. Has the Maduro regime put this on the table?

For November 4, against the backdrop of recklessly injurious actions against multilateralism and open violations of international law, is there a recognisable electoral platform exploring such depravities when it comes to the United States?

In India, where despite obvious progress at the macro-economic level continued hunger and socio-economic alienation prevail, the current lengthy electoral process (over 970 million voters!!!) is hardly being considered a watershed moment to help fill the gaps.

Ditto the UK’s July 4 elections with the possibility of stabilising a situation in which there have been four prime ministers over the past eight years representing the same political party; with none having served an entire term in office even as renowned social services sink into disarray.

As we speak, disgruntled, disappointed South Africans are today at the polls and the ruling ANC might struggle to attract over 50% of the vote.

For the rest of us, these examples hardly offer best practice models in the modern era. Election watchers should be keeping an eye out not only for statistical outcomes but for the extent to which elections are delivering results reflecting developmental needs.

Next year, we in T&T and some of our neighbours will need to get clearer directions on the hustings to ensure our votes truly count, however much the challenge clearly persists elsewhere.