The Tribune

By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Chief Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

ALTHOUGH he voted in support of all four questions, Free National Movement (FNM) Senator Dr Duane Sands said he does not expect today's gender equality referendum will be successful.

Dr Sands noted that the referendum faced numerous challenges particularly the “hostile” language directed at the vote ‘no’ campaigns. He told The Tribune he hoped his assessment was incorrect but remained a “realist.”

“I voted ‘yes’ on all four bills but I'm very concerned certainly from what I've heard,” he said.

Dr Sands voted in St Anne’s, but spoke to The Tribune at the Elizabeth polling station at Thelma Gibson Primary School.

“I'm hoping that my assessment of the sentiment and the mood on the ground is incorrect, but from what I'm hearing it doesn't look good,” he said. “I think given the fact that we stand as one of only 26 countries in the world to maintain constitutionally enshrined discrimination against women, I hope that we are able to get beyond that point today, and yet I'm a realist.”

Dr Sands added: “I understand the issues that have been put forward by both sides. We live in a democracy and we have to accept the will of the majority, whether we like that will is a different matter.”

Acknowledging that referendums were very difficult, Dr Sands forecasted the country will have to keep working at constitutional reform regardless of the outcome of today's vote.

“I think the language of this referendum was unfortunately very, very hostile,” he said. “It was not respectful in many ways when your start to hear that certain people are ‘dumb’ and ‘stupid’ and ‘ignorant.’ I don't think that as a country we ought to be supporting that type of vitriolic language.

“The fact that we see things differently doesn't make me any less intelligent a human being than you, now I might hold that in my heart, I might think it, but when I say it I think it crossed the line,” Dr Sands said.

Retired Deputy Commissioner of Police Quinn McCartney was also disappointed by the national discourse regarding the referendum, pointing to a lack of fairness between the campaigns.

Mr McCartney said he cast a split vote, two ‘yes’ votes and two ‘no’ votes in Elizabeth.

He encouraged voters not to be influenced by any group but to make a decision after considering the impact each change will have on the country.

“I don't think that the discourse was as open and free as it should have been,” he said.

“I was a little disappointed that both sides weren't given the same kind of funding, the same kind of opportunities, the same type of forum to present their views. My view is that a government should present the questions to the nation and allow persons to debate on it intelligently so that there is no hysteria, there is no false information or accusations from both sides.”

Regardless of the vote's outcome, Mr McCartney said he hoped that the next government will be able depoliticize the country.

“I think when cooler heads prevail, whoever wins the next election in 2017 or whenever it's called, I think they need to work on unifying the country and getting the country on a common ground. See where our five year, 10 year national development plan is and irrespective of whether it's the PLP, DNA, or FNM government, this is the direction we want to go as a country.

“Ultimately I think we are too political, some people may be voting on party lines or voting with flashbacks from 2002.”