Member of Parliament for St George North Toni Moore has warned constituents of St James North that while an opposition is a vital part of a functioning democracy, it should not be supported blindly or for its own sake.
Speaking at a Barbados Labour Party (BLP) meeting in Weston, St James, on Sunday night, she urged voters to critically assess the value and effectiveness of those seeking their support under the banner of political change.
“There are some who will come and tell you that a democratic society must have an opposition. But I want to challenge you tonight: yes, democracy may thrive best where there is an opposition, but not just any opposition,” Moore told the crowd gathered in support of BLP candidate Chad Blackman.
Declaring that the BLP was not taking any votes for granted, she underscored the need for tangible support at the polls rather than verbal endorsements.
Moore, fresh off a trip to the Dominican Republic where she attended a congress of the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas, shared an encounter that she said underscored the dangers of voter apathy. Citing concerns raised by representatives of the AFL-CIO, the largest union federation in the United States, she said they had lamented the consequences of low voter turnout among workers in recent elections.
“Not that we haven’t seen what happens when people don’t hold their democracy sacred, but to hear it from them – to hear them say their own people didn’t show up in November last year and now they’re living with the consequences – it was chilling,” she said. “That’s why I’m here tonight talking about the power of your vote.”
Moore challenged claims from Opposition voices that a change in party representation was necessary in St James North. “When you go and vote for change, and the change you are voting for is what is being presented by the opposition, how much better off do you think you will be?” she asked.
She referenced the Democratic Labour Party’s (DLP) campaign in the 2013 General Election, which featured a bus advertisement criticising the BLP’s transport policies. “They used Miss Mapp to say that a vote for the BLP would end the public transport system as we knew it. But when the DLP won, it was they who presided over a depleted Transport Board fleet.”
