EDITORIAL
A Contract Between Politicians and Public
Monday, July 12, 2004
The 2004 general election is now only a scant few months away, with teams
being announced, with independent candidates coming forward, and with several
election issues beginning to emerge.
What seemed so far away not long ago, is now looming large at all points of
the Cayman horizon.
In the rhetoric that usually accompanies this exercise, in almost every
country one wishes to name, it is important to remind every one, politician as
well as voter, of the fundamental premise of an election – that of a
politician entering into a contract with the voters to represent them to the
best of his or her ability.
Furthermore, it is unfortunately true, that in many instances politicians,
in most countries, seem to forget very quickly their obligation to the people
based on the promises made and assurances given.
It is also worth noting that the Greek meaning of the word “politics” is
given as “of the citizenry.” That aspect of the exercise seems to have been
completely overlooked by some of our elected officials who have been known to
take the position that, once given the mandate by the voter, the obligation to
consider the needs of and to report to the citizenry somehow falls away,
until, of course, the next election date looms, as some are now doing.
The contract, as we understand it, is not supposed to be for two months
after the election date and four months prior to the next. It is supposed to
be in place, as is the case with any contract, throughout the period
contracted – in Cayman’s case, four years.
Voters who find their politician absent or invisible, or nearly so, in the
two or three years between elections must begin to take the position that
their contract has been broken. They must react as they would react when any
contract of any kind has been broken.
They must point out to those seeking public office that there are two
partners in this process, and that the obligation of the voter is met when he
or she selects a representative, and, critically, that the abiding obligation
of the politician is not to be lightly discarded.
This obligation to continually consult with one’s constituents is vital if
an elected representative is to be able to discern the needs, even changing
needs, of the people he or she is representing. It is the essential ingredient
in the process. Politicians should not need to be told – but some apparently
do – that their function as a Member of the Legislative Assembly is to
fundamentally propose or oppose or push for the ideas or wishes of the
citizenry, even if, in fact particularly if, such ideas or wishes are in
opposition to their own.
As Cayman matures politically, it is vital that political candidates and
the citizens on the voters’ list understand that this is the fundamental
premise on which the voting contract is built. It is the duty of the citizens,
as an election looms, to remind political candidates of this axiom. We should
be telling all those courting our votes, “The contract here is that I give you
my vote on condition that you know my position on things and that you speak
for me on that basis.”
By that standard, there are many voters in this country whose contract with
their MLAs has been broken in recent years.
In the coming campaign, the voters must remind those campaigning that they
intend to hold them to that obligation.
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