BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – MY name is Melissa Bryant and I am a supporter of the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP).
The last part of that statement is false. But many persons would not be inclined to believe me.
It is not due to any public show of support I have shown that party. It is simply because my father, Clarence Fitzroy Bryant, was one of the party’s most recognisable faces for several decades.
Many young voters in St. Kitts face a similar situation. They are raised in families where generations going back to their great-great grandparents have voted for one party. When they become eligible to vote, it is expected they will continue the tradition.
Traditional voting impacts on voting patterns
According to political scientist Dr. Asyl Warner, traditional voting has had a significant impact on voting patterns. Although the influence is not as strong as it once was, the phenomenon is still a staple of our voting culture.
Warner blamed the “immense pressure” used by politicians and overzealous families to influence young voters.
“When you have a father telling his children if they don’t vote for the party he supports, he will kick them out of the house, that’s just ridiculous. And politicians exploit this type of behaviour,” he noted. “They think they’ve got you in their pocket so they don’t need to bring the issues. We’re treated to the same old rhetoric about what the rival party did to someone back in the 1940s. If you don’t fall in party line, you’re treated as a black sheep.”
The youth perspective
With his political expertise, Warner’s opinion is of course useful. But a youth perspective is just as important.SKNVibes spoke to two young persons in their late 20s - both voted before and they intend to do so again in the upcoming general elections.
St. Paul’s Crios Freeman doesn’t consider the rhetoric to be unnecessary. In fact, he thinks it is important for young voters to be informed accordingly.
“The parties’ philosophies have not changed. If your family has experienced victimisation by a certain party, you must be aware of it. Since their philosophy hasn’t changed, they will treat you just as badly. It cannot be considered meaningless rhetoric; these are the things young voters must know,” he stressed.
A “Labour by birth”, Crios is adamant that he is also a Labour by “understanding and comprehension”. Unlike Warner, he does not have a negative opinion of traditional voting.
He admitted that family legacy would always play a large part in his voting decision, but emphasised that it was his choice to make.
“The issues families have held on to will influence their kids and grandkids. If 20 years ago my family voted for a party for particular reasons and I am now voting in that manner, it may be because I have considered why my family is voting that way. I see that as considering the issues.
“If someone decides their family has been voting this way, this is how I want to vote, it’s their right – that is democracy. Not because they are in a position to make a more academic or intellectual vote means their vote is not as equal as someone else’s.”
The issues-oriented voter
While Crios and Azilla Clarke share a Labour background, their voting mindsets are radically different.
Noted Clarke, a Newtown resident, “I am from a traditional Labour family on both sides. As one Labour stalwart told me, ‘Two Labour water made me’, so I should be quite staunchly for the Labour party. However, I prefer to be independent. Tradition will have no impact whatsoever on my vote.”
Azilla confessed she could not say the same about her first ballot, when she caved to family pressure and voted for the SKNLP. Since then, she has snubbed tradition and become what she called an “issues-oriented” voter.
The reaction she gets from both sides confuses her.
“I get guilt trips from Labour supporters because I’m not a party activist. From the PAM end, I get no interaction because they assume I’m diehard Labour. I get dirty looks from both sides because I’m someone who questions the issues and am not satisfied with their rhetoric.”
Still, she has no problem with traditional voting, but only up to a certain point.
“I think engaging your child around voting and what your family history has been is important. But if you pass down the party legacy without any exploration, that is wrong. They should have the space to make a decision without any undue interference.”
Azilla added, “I know my father does not expect me to fight his battles. What he expects me to do is to understand what happened and ask myself what my vote can represent. Once I can answer that question, I think he will stand by me.”
Traditional voting encourages division
Azilla and Crios are by no means representative of all youth voters. But the glimpse into their disparate outlooks is telling.
To Warner, the worst thing about traditional voting is that it encourages division. Once the electorate is fragmented, he feels it is easier for rival supporters to be turned against each other.
“You already have the perception within the Federation that when one party is in power, only 50 percent of the population benefits. Traditional voting does nothing to remove this mentality. If people continue to vote mindlessly, we will not mature as a people. We will always be prey to politicians who would manipulate our vote.”
“There are so many issues to consider – the economy, social development, etcetera. I’m not telling young voters to disregard family legacy. But if that is the sole determinant of your vote, then you have done your country an injustice,” Warner stressed.
I stated earlier that I am not an SKNLP supporter. For the record, let me say that I do not support PAM, the United National Empowerment Party, the Nevis Reformation Party or the Concerned Citizens’ Movement. Instead, I am a supporter of my country and I will vote for the party I believe can most successfully lead us through these difficult times.
When I cast my first ballot, that thought, and not family tradition, will be foremost in my mind.
