A prominent community leader has recommended to the Constitutional Commission that political parties be done away with in The Bahamas to give way to an alternative system of democracy that would allow any citizen to run for office void of party affiliation.
Ed Fields, chairman of We The People, a community service-based organization, said the established political format is not conducive to true representation or accountability.
He admitted it would be a radical departure from the current system, but one that is intended to provoke thought.
"We all decry the tribalism that our party system has devolved into and the flagrancy of blind alliances based on self preservation of the individual, rather than collective advancement through national growth and development," Fields said. "So why not abandon it?"
Fields, who is also vice president of public affairs at Atlantis Resort, said the commission should not limit its consideration to only "tweaking" the constitution and must recognize this process as an opportunity to transform and advance the country.
"For a moment let us imagine an environment with no political parties," he said, "one where any citizen could put his name in the running for a constituency void of party affiliation; that debate and promotion of ideas led to the selection of the best representative; that the collective of those representatives choose the chief executive, who then selects his Cabinet.
"Imagine that when ideas are presented, they are argued on merit or philosophical concerns, rather than on political considerations, that allegiance is to those that the representatives represent, the people, rather than the person or party that anointed them.
"Would not the opposition be purer in the sense that it is opposition not for opposition sake, but for principled position?"
Fields said a new democratic structure would also allow for the recall of an executive body if it failed to do the people's work.
He encouraged Bahamians to let go of the "flagrancy of blind alliance" and instead transform to a system that would curtail the impact of money on the electoral process, and delineate and protect the difference between freedom of choice and the national good.
Asked whether it was feasible to disband political parties given Bahamians' acceptance of the established parties and process, Fields said, "This is a huge challenge that many of us in this room may never see come to fruition."
However, Fields said that does not mean it cannot come about and should not be worked towards, if it means national advancement.
"It means that we have to face the reality of what exists today and challenge ourselves to find a method or mechanism to reverse what we have been exposed to," he noted.
A glance at our history Carl Bethel, who represents the Official Opposition on the commission, noted that despite members of the United Bahamian Party (UBP) running independently they were unified by their personal self interests.
He said the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) was formed because the Bahamian people shared a common goal to overthrow those "men of wealth and status", which eventually led to majority rule on January 10, 1967.
If Sir Randol Fawkes or Sir Alvin Braynen had joined the UBP instead of throwing their support behind the PLP, giving the party a two-seat majority in the House of Assembly, Bahamian history may have been radically different.
Bethel asked Fields how history could be prevented from repeating itself.
Fields said this could be prevented. He said by knowing political parties form in any environment because people form alliances, mechanisms can be put in place to prevent that happening, particularly among the wealthy.
"It's over the moon right, but the reality is that if we know that we want wide participation by all those who live in a community then we can inventively and innovatively put in place measures that would prevent those who just have money from being the ones who run [for office]," Fields said.
He told the commission We The People will spend the next several months conducting its own constitutional forums on New Providence and possibly the Family Islands to include as many citizens as possible in the discussion.
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