Democracy RIP......."Strangled At Birth."

In what has been described as the biggest assault on Democracy since the occupation Former Deputy Daniel Wimberley's proposition P.15/2011 which was unanimously passed in the last parliament has been ripped up and torn to shreds so it is beyond recognition and replaced by, what many of us believe to be, a desperate attempt to hold onto feudal power in Jersey.

An Electoral Commission that was supposed to be "independent" of any politicians is now full of politicians chaired by the Former Bailiff, and now Senator, Sir Philip Bailhache, who's brother, the Deputy Bailiff, Chaired the States Sitting that inevitably got his brother elected as the Chairman of the Electoral Commission.


Former Deputy Daniel Wimberley urges the people of Jersey to boycott this (highjacked) Electoral Commission and DO NOT apply to be a part of it, DO NOT legitimise it.


Below is a Press Release, sent to all the island's State Media, as well as Bloggers (Jersey's only Independent media). Below the Press Release is an open letter from Mr. Wimberley to the Residents of Jersey.

PRESS RELEASE From Former Deputy Wimberley.

DON’T TOUCH ELECTORAL COMMISSION URGES ITS FOUNDER

Daniel Wimberley, who first proposed the establishing of an Electoral Commission and steered it through the States, has today published an open letter urging anyone thinking of applying to serve on the Commission to think again.

“I myself have been approached to do just that, and I have decided – no.” he said.

In the letter he writes: “It is indeed seductive. Go on to the Commission, establish what are the real fundamentals of reform, have a real debate and real public consultation. You can start from a blank sheet of paper and get the fairest, most democratic and most effective system for Jersey. That after all was the original idea. But now I sadly have to point out - it is a lost cause. It is just not going to happen.

The letter points to three factors which prove that no one should apply to serve on the Commission: it is now controlled by States members, its terms of reference have been doctored to ensure that the public remain disempowered, and the independent experts to act as a check and balance on the process have been removed.

Mr. Wimberley said: “The purpose of the Commission has been completely subverted,” he said. “It has been stolen from the people. The idea was to have an open and honest look at how we elect our representatives, to bring a better democracy to the island. Now it is a plaything of the establishment. They will cement their power, and make the island less democratic. It is truly appalling..

“And so I urge anyone of integrity – do not get involved with this farce.”

ENDS

OPEN LETTER TO THE RESIDENTS OF JERSEY

My advice to anyone thinking of applying to serve on the Electoral Commission is – don’t.

It is indeed a seductive notion – go on to the Commission, establish what are the real fundamentals of reform,  have a real debate and real public consultation. You can start from a blank sheet of paper and get the fairest, most democratic and most effective system for Jersey.

That after all was the original idea. But now I sadly have to point out - it is a lost cause. It is just not going to happen.

Having States members on the Commission was extraordinary enough. At a stroke the States destroyed the independence of the Commission. The full-time politicians will control what happens.

But there have been two other two massive changes which have gone almost unnoticed.  There will be no outside experts, either on the Commission itself or sitting as an advisory panel. And the Terms of Reference - which were carefully written so that the Commission would look at all sides of the question and come up with a solution which could command the support of the public - have been dismantled.

How very sad. A Commission planned in good faith has been replaced by something completely different. And not worth working for.

Independent experts giving on-going advice and comment on the record would have been a check against vested interests taking over the process, and would have ensured fair play and best practice. That is exactly why we use them in other important and contentious areas, be it advice on our economy, the inquiry into the root causes of the death of Mrs. Rourke, and so on. But this vital check and balance has been removed by PPC.

And then the Terms of Reference.  First, PPC removed “voting systems.” But voting systems are a) a vital part of electoral reform, and b) precisely what determine how the range of views of the electorate gets to be reflected accurately in the assembly.

For example, in elections like the Senatorials where there are several seats, someone may vote for candidates A, B and C. But they may actually have clear preferences: they may want candidate A a lot, candidate B a bit less, and candidate C - well, he or she is better than nothing.

These preferences can and perhaps should influence the final result - especially in our non-party system - but any consideration of this has been excluded by PPC. So this is the first way they limited democracy.

Secondly, PPC have altered the terms of Reference to make sure that the Commission cannot actively seek out a way for islanders to have a say in who ends up as Ministers, via the votes they cast and their preferences.  After all, the most common complaint of residents about Jersey elections is this – “why vote – it does not make any difference.”

So once again, they took action to limit democracy. Why?

The point about representative democracy is that the people have the last word. They can remove a government that has failed or is acting blatantly in the interests of one group and not in the interests of everyone.

The changes to the Commission’s membership, the changes to the Terms of Reference, and the removal of any oversight from outside, serve precisely to ensure that the people do not get this power. The government we have now is here to stay. 

The idea that the public could have preferences between candidates, the idea that the public should be able to remove the government, and the idea that the public should be able to decide on who they want in government – these ideas have been taken from the table by the powers-that-be.

There is a big sickness at the heart of Jersey when an attempt to bring about better democracy in the island is strangled at birth.

Job done. Democracy RIP. (END)