 Posted 2/27/2010 9:21:22 PM
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| People within the disapora play a significant role in the socio-economic and even political development of their respective islands through a variety of means. Should they therefore be given the right to vote in elections in their country of origin while they are citizens of other territories?
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Posted 2/28/2010 9:49:37 AM
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| This is an issue many Caribbean countries have been grappling with. Most recent I have heard the vincentian PM, and I wouldnt say that he was grappling with this- for him the answer to the question you pose was a resounding no. And I must say I agree with him. Yes the Diaspora contributes significantly to economies of their respective countries and that on the region on a whole. But should this give them the right to vote in those countries. Well we go back to the old argument which lead (somewhat) to the American independence- no taxation without representation. Some would suggest that the remittance received from the Diaspora is more than the taxes collected within these island nations- and that argument is most of the time correct. But there are also many who dont remit- for whatever reason. Lets look beyond the issue of taxation with representation and see the other major issue. The Diaspora population for any caribbean country is about equal to the population of that home country. Lets examine this scenario- St.vincent and the Grenadines has a population of approximately 110 thousand people. Lets assume the voting population is 50%- 55 thousand. In the USA, according to the US census of 2000, approximately 50 thousand Vincentian allowed themselves to be counted on the census. If we add the illegal immigrant population (another 50 thousand), and allow them to vote, then vincentian living abroad, by virtue of majority, will dictate the way the country is run. That would not be just/fair to the those living on the island who are impacted on a daily basis by the decisions of their government.
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