Genesis
In February 2002, The Gleaner newspaper, CVM TV and Power 106 radio station had discussions with a view of hosting debates between political parties ahead of the elections anticipated for later that year. The objective of the debates was to address a concern that the sober dialogue, necessary to assist the Jamaican electorate in making informed choices from among candidates for office, was too often superseded by a focus on extraneous issues.
The group later learned that the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC) had already started to plan for a similar series of debates and in March 2002, the Media Association of Jamaica (MAJ) and the JCC came together to implement a series of national debates called ‘JAMAICA VOTES’.
The seed had been planted.
It was suggested in a meeting of the partners in May 2002, ‘that a move towards the establishment of a “Debates Commission” …..should be pursued’ and at a meeting a year later the name “Jamaica Debates Commission” was adopted. Thus began what is now known as the Jamaica Debates Commission.
Initially the Commission was made up of the following Commissioners:
- Chairman - Philmore Ogle of the JCC
- JCC representative - Noel DaCosta (Peter Graham as alternate)
- MAJ representative - Newton James (Angela Patterson as alternate)
- Outreach representative - Kevin O’Brien Chang (Glen Christian as alternate)
- Press Association representative - Glen McFarlane.
The Commission also established five operating committees:
- Editorial
- Production
- Marketing
- Outreach
- Finance
The 2002 Debates
Before the 2002 debates, the JCC had been in discussion with the United States Embassy’s Office of Public Affairs on matters relating to the technical aspects of hosting the debates. Arising out of those discussions assistance was obtained for addressing operational, logistical and procedural challenges in the conduct and staging of the 2002 debates between the political parties. This assistance was provided by personnel from two U.S. organizations:
- The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI). During 1997 and 1998 the NDI had provided technical assistance to the Jamaican monitoring group, Citizens Action for Free and Fair Elections (CAFFE)
- The U.S. Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD).
At the national level the Jamaica Debates Commission planned 3 debates on:
- Economic Development Issues
- Social Development Issues
- Governance
but due to last-minute drop-out of some panelists it became necessary for the first and second debates to be combined.
The merged debate which occurred on October 8, 2002 saw Omar Davies and Burchell Whiteman of the PNP debate with Bruce Golding and Audley Shaw of the JLP.
The Leaders’ Debate to address governance was held on October 10, 2002 between Hon. P.J. Patterson and Hon. Edward Seaga.
Both debates were carried simultaneously by –
- CVM TV, LOVE TV and TVJ
- Radio stations: HOT 102 FM, KLAS FM, LOVE 101 FM, POWER 106 FM and RJR 94 FM.
At the local level there were plans for an “in-studio” one-off debate in every parish. These were to be carried by local cable TV service providers. These debates were to take place simultaneously in all parishes immediately after the National Leaders’ Debate. In each parish the Chamber of Commerce, the service clubs and the cable TV service providers were to constitute a Debate Watch Organizing committee. These plans had however to be abandoned, for lack of resources to establish the organizing committee in time before the General Elections.
The debates in 2002 were made possible by sponsorships from:
and by contributions from:
- United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
- United States Embassy Office of Public Affairs (OPA).
Evolution
It is reported that the first national debates between political parties were held in 1993 when there were two debates, a Leaders’ Debate and an Issues Debate.
Critics of the 1993 debates considered that:
- For each of the two debates a team of 5 panelists was too large.
- In the Issues Debate 3 representatives for each political party were too many.
- In the Issues Debate panelists interrupted the debaters too often, and three of the panelists jostled for the limelight.
Critics of the 2002 debates were of the view that:
- the one-hour duration of each was too short
- the general format was too inflexible.
The JDC switched to a 1½ hour round table format of presentation for 2003. This format involved a moderator and discussants, some taken from the political parties.
- The first presentation with a moderator and 5 discussants (without a government representative) explored growth prospects for Tourism, Exports, Agriculture, Manufacturing and Services.
- Post-event feed-back considered the duration inadequate for focus on any one subsector
- The second presentation by a moderator and 4 discussants (including representatives of the government and of the opposition) supported by 5 resource persons and with reference to a research paper by Professor Errol Miller examined “Educating for the New Economy: The Way Forward”
- The third presentation with a moderator and 4 discussants (including representatives of the government and of the opposition) supported by 8 resource persons and with reference to a research paper by Dr. Ian Boxill, examined “ Tourism: The Way Forward” and explored the feasibility of increasing tourist arrivals from 2 million to 5 million per annum.
- Post-event feed-back from the last two presentations considered that:
- content was solid
- format innovative.
The 2007 Debates
The Jamaica Debates Commission resumed activity in July 2006 in preparation for national debates leading up to the General Elections to be held on August 27, 2007.
The Jamaica Debates Commission is currently served by:
Commissioners
- Chairman - Philmore Ogle of the JCC
- Vice-Chairman - Gary Allen of the MAJ
- MAJ representatives - Jennifer Grant, Brian Schmidt
- JCC representatives - Anthony Chang, Lyndon Williams
with support from
- Administrator - Eleanor Henry
- Resource Person - Trevor Fearon
There are three operating Committees:
- Production and Editorial
- Marketing and PR
- Finance