C. Roy ReynoldsTHE ELECTION of 1944 was a historic event in several respects.
Clearly it marked the end of the Crown Colony status and that reality was well received across the board. But the results had other implications as well.
Many had expected that while the system would change radically there would be a significant element of continuity in the order of things. But when the votes were tallied there was near consternation in some quarters. Gone were almost all of the old political guard, with their experiences of "how things run". The intellectuality of the PNP as exuded from the Drumblair camelot of Norman Manley had been marginalized and the birthright of the entrepreneurial and propertied class represented by the Jamaica Democratic Party had been swept aside by the assault on the system by the hordes of Bustamante.
It was one thing to open the gates, but quite another to put the equivalent of the barbarians in charge of the whole proceedings. Still it was not politically correct to condemn the whole process. The Gleaner got around this reality with two editorials on the day following the election. The first welcomed the new reality and championed co-operation. The second, titled "Vox Populi" questioned the very foundation of the election.
The opening leader was titled simply: "The Elections". It said that the exercise had been more orderly and more successful than even optimists had dared to expect. This it said, was "splendid news".
Obligation
The people had gone to the polls in large numbers and they have behaved well. But, "whether they have fulfilled the other part of their obligation as well is still to be seen; that can only be proved by the work which is done by the members they have selected. It is up to the new members to justify both themselves and the electorate. The country must now make up its mind to face the new political situation and co-operate in making a success of the constitution and of the affairs of the island in the changed circumstances of political leadership."
The editorial allowed that though the potential ability of the new members is not well known, it appeared to be good. But they had to prove themselves; even as it lamented that the old experienced hands would not be there to provide "the leaven of experience".
"We consider it necessary to express confidence in the situation because there will be many, even among influential and thoughtful persons, who may be alarmed at what they may consider a surprising phenomenon. There is really nothing extraordinary about what has happened, because the reasons behind it are simple.
"The political revolution in the country caught many of the island's best equipped citizens unawares and they have not had time to re-establish themselves in the minds of the population at large.
"They must continue to project their influence upon the management of public affairs because their participation is now all the more necessary. In the meantime it is the duty of every party, every politician and every citizen to stand by the Government and its new legislature, not only in sympathy but in constructive criticism!"
Excitement
The other editorial cast doubt on the very foundation on which the elections had been conducted. "Now that the tumult and the shouting dies, the election excitement is over, it is a good time to dispassionately review our general political system. This is based in Jamaica as in all democracies, on universal adult suffrage: the right of every man and woman over 21 years of age to vote. But, is this necessarily the best and most efficient system? It is based upon the proposition that the voice of the people is the voice of God, but who laid down this somewhat startling maxim? God, or the people? Does it necessarily secure the best and most efficient representation for a country."
While the principle might work well in countries where the vast majority of citizens are literate it might be another thing in a country where large numbers are not able to read and be informed before they make their choices. For instance, The Gleaner said, in the Soviet Union where there were some 150 languages and many races and culture adult suffrage would not only be undesirable but completely unworkable.
Then it added philosophically: "These are of course purely academic questions, there is little likelihood of any alteration in the suffrage system, but there is no harm in discussing such questions." The Gleaner did though see possibilities in the proposal that voters be allowed to cross constituency borders when they found no candidate of merit in their own.
Bustamante and his crew had indeed created a violent upheaval in the system and taken many unawares!
