After all the shouting, the McKeeva Bush government’s manoeuverings to make sure a referendum would not succeed, a private member’s motion by the two Independent members from North Side and East End that was unsuccessful due to a casting vote by the Speaker of the House, the campaign for it by the present government only for its premier to do an about turn against it, members of his governing party and its coalition of a sort of party calling itself independent saying they were for it, the premier doing another about turn for it, we now have it – almost have it.

And the IT?

A government motion to introduce One Man, One Vote (the IT) in single member constituencies before the 2017 election was passed by the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday (10).

And the member from North Side, Ezzard Miller, and his partner from neighbouring East End, Arden McClean, didn’t vote for it and they were the most vociferous campaigners for it.

Totally amazing.

They abstained because Premier Alden McLaughlin refused to amend his motion to either include a time line or specify the number of seats.

The only No Vote came from McKeeva Bush and his West Bay compatriot, Captain Eugene Ebanks who had previously voted for it.

Bernie Bush, the other McKeeva Bush partner was not unsurprisingly missing when the vote was taken after publically expressing that he was for it. Mustn’t be seen to oppose his leader.

Even though McLaughlin presented the motion he had to save face a little for his now 360 degree turn by indicating although “the issue was very important to a few very vocal people it was not necessarily a priority”.

Good Heavens! Where has his ear been? Isn’t he aware of the huge (not few) public support for the One Man, One Vote, at the referendum?

It would have been wiser if he had said said nothing.

McKeeva said the country would now herald in garrison politics and “chew off more than it could swallow”.

Garrison politics?

“Currently there are 18 known political garrisons throughout Jamaica. A garrison, as many already know, is an area in which criminal and political activity are tightly controlled by politically affiliated gang leaders. Historically, the political party that happened to be in power would use large-scale public housing projects to reward and geographically concentrate their supporters in garrison communities.

Violent, politically affiliated criminal gangs would then enforce the political homogeneity of the garrison in exchange for a measure of exemption from law and order. At various points in Jamaica’s history both of the major political parties, the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the People’s National Party (PNP) have created new housing projects that have turned into garrisons. Several seats in Parliament are now virtually guaranteed for each party by the garrisons they control.”

• William E Virtue Jamaica Observer September 11 2014.

Wow!

That makes gifts of televisions and washing machines look small fry.

It all made for an interesting day –

– In the LA., I have to say.

One Man, One Vote (for man insert woman also)

IMAGE: www.prweb.com