MRS. ANTONETTE HAUGHTON-CARDENAS, a practising attorney, could hardly be regarded as a novice but her entry into representational politics has awakened her to some realities and left her, as she says, disillusioned with the way politics is practised in Jamaica.

Mrs. Haughton-Cardenas, who was speaking to The Gleaner's Editors Forum earlier this week, says her creeping despondence about the political system has been brought on by what she has described as the widespread bribing of voters. To quote the leader of the United People's Party, "I didn't know that people bought votes... I didn't know people gave people envelopes of money to support them. Now I know that for a fact."

The practice of buying votes is a throwback to the early days of Universal Adult Suffrage when voters were relatively unsophisticated about the issues and the real interest that some politicians had in them was to obtain their votes. The easiest way to obtain that vote was quite literally to buy it.

We would have expected that in an era where people are aware of the issues thanks in part to the influence of the media, that voters cast their ballots based on enlightened self-interest and support those candidates and political parties who they think will create those conditions which will enable them to pursue their own advancement. In that context the practice of buying votes should have all but disappeared.

There have been whisperings that the widespread purchasing of votes has marked this election campaign. Now we have confirmation from Mrs. Haughton-Cardenas that the practice is alive and well.

We believe that in today's Jamaica those politicians who buy votes are displaying a vulgar contempt for the Jamaican people, preying on their economic difficulties, and are in fact breaking the law.

The Election Offences set out under the Representation of the People Act attract penalties for "bribery and treating" ranging between $20,000 and $80,000, or imprisonment between three and five years.

We urge the electorate to resist the blandishments and the bribes and cast their vote for the candidates and the party which presents the most plausible platform that will not only move the country forward, but will also allow individuals to realise their goals.

THE OPINIONS ON THIS PAGE, EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GLEANER.