Caribbean Democracy

Is the Caribbean a democratic region? Is democracy widespread amongst the countries of the Caribbean that make up the Caribbean Community?
Is it correct to say that because of the region’s general adherence to the parliamentary system and the holding of periodic competitive, free and fair general elections, usually every five years that democracy is alive and well in the region?
One thing we can certainly lay claim to is that the Caribbean is politically stable, but according to David Hinds in his article “the Myth of Caribbean Democracy” this means that some people would have us believe that the sum total of democracy is free and fair elections; that all you have to do to satisfy the democratic requirement is to have a love affair every five years.
Here is a short piece of his article in which he challenges those who say that the Caribbean is one of the most democratic regions in the world.
“Electoral parties, in particular, tend to operate as if the world begins and ends with elections. Everything they do in between elections is geared towards preparing for the next election. Many would do almost anything to win an election. It is the passport to heaven. Some parties, therefore, come to power on the basis of free and fair elections, yet rule in the most undemocratic manner,” Hinds wrote in his article.
“There is an argument that too much democracy is not good, as it leads to disorder and anarchy. What nonsense! You either have democracy or you don’t have democracy. I know that the term democracy means different things to different people, but to most of us it constitutes things such as freedom from, freedom to, freedom of, equality, fair play, liberty, and justice. Some of us have argued that our Caribbean from the period of slaveary to the present has never been democratic. Any system that is based on domination of any sort is by definition undemocratic, pure and simple.”
“Although the Caribbean has gotten rid of colonialism, it has retained most, if not all, of the institutions of the Colonial state, a state system that was oppressive in nature and geared towards upholding and protecting the interests of the ruling class. And because the ruling class was of a particular race group, it was also geared towards upholding racial domination. With the attainment of constitutional independence this oppressive state system was left in place.

It was buttressed by constitutions that generally gave enormous powers to the rulers. I submit therefore that despite the parliamentary system and free and fair elections, the post-colonial Caribbean political system is in essence undemocratic.”
One can’t help but admit that Hinds makes a strong case in that the political system in the Caribbean is undemocratic.
In most Caribbean countries, if not in all, St. Lucia in particular the Prime Minister and his or her Cabinet, for example, have a free hand to do a lot of things so long as they are supported by a majority of the parliament. That is fact. No arguments on this one.
Also there is no separation of powers of the three branches of government. Some may ague that there is separation of power but listen to this. There is no confirmation before the legislative branch when the Prime Minister appoints the judicial branch. And as for the legislative branch, we all know how useless that branch is in St. Lucia, which is to be a rubber stamp of the executive branch, which really is where the power lies.
And in St. Lucia where a big deal is made over constituency branches being the ones to select their candidates for general elections we know that it is the leader of the party that determines who runs in a general election.
Hinds went on to make this point regarding the opposition and its part in the decision making process of the state: “There are also no Checks and Balance, so there is no oversight of the executive branch. The opposition, then, is supposed to be the watchdog, but it cannot do so within the constitutional framework. This, despite the fact that most of the constitutions designate the opposition leader part of the executive. However, in practice the office is not part of the decision making process.”
Simply put, in the Caribbean it is the political party that is in power which runs the show. It controls the government. With the type of Constitution we have Prime Minister Stephenson King has kingly powers.
Hinds noted that “the state in the Caribbean therefore, functions like a one party state. Hence there is need for constitutional reform aimed at putting in place the framework for a democratic culture. One cannot necessarily legislate a democratic culture, but you can have laws that facilitate its flowering rather than stifling it.”