Critical to engage youth in political processes

TRINIDAD & Tobago went to the polls on August 10 and the incumbent People’s National Movement was re-elected. Another prominent CARICOM member state, Jamaica, prepares for general election on September 3.

On the day of the general election in Trinidad & Tobago, I managed to convince a young man to vote. His initial refusal was based on his feeling of dissatisfaction with partisan politics and the poor performance of the two major post-independence political parties – United National Congress and the People’s National Movement. I argued that voting honours and respects our foreparents who engaged in a bitter struggle with colonial governments to determine their own political leaders and future.

One day after the election, I had a refreshing and hopeful conversation with another young lady. She was actively involved in the activities of one of the political parties during the campaign period, and was proud to be part of a political process that contributed to the election of her preferred candidate and political leader.

LOW LEVEL OF TRUST

On one hand, I sympathised with the young man who initially refused to vote. I am also aware that there are many Jamaicans who argue similarly. This was reflected in the low voter turnout of 47.7 per cent in Jamaica’s 2016 general election. According to the Caribbean Council, it was the lowest percentage since Jamaica was granted Universal Adult Suffrage in 1944. Similarly, in Trinidad & Tobago, this year’s voter turnout of 58.04 per cent was in stark contrast to the 66.8 per cent in the 2015 election.

Given the post-Independence reality of corruption in the public sector that is linked to partisan politics, high crime rate, and high migration of skilled workers, there is a low level of trust in governments, according to Richard Edelman Trust Barometer. Many are convinced that their individual contribution makes absolutely no difference.

‘CRITICAL MASS’

However, on the other hand, an application of the scientific theory of ‘critical mass’ gives a more hopeful picture. Scientifically, critical mass refers to the smallest mass that can sustain a nuclear reaction at a constant level. When the actual critical mass is reached nothing happens, but to produce a nuclear explosion there needs to be several critical masses to sustain a chain reaction.

The essence of this theory helps in understanding the argument of many Caribbean historians. It was the ‘critical mass’ of a series of resistant activities of the slaves in the colonies over centuries, they argue, that contributed significantly to Emancipation and Independence.

It was not a single action of our foreparents, but an ongoing series of liberation fights that has enabled the political freedom we enjoy today. Consequently, the right to vote is an important and necessary franchise resulting, and deservedly so, from the intense actions, ongoing struggles and relentless pursuit by a collection of individuals who understood the power of sociopolitical critical mass in the achievement of freedom in our island states. REV DONALD CHAMBERS General Secretary Antilles Episcopal Conference Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago