April 4, 2009
Elections seem to be occuring more and more frequently. When I was here last 
October/November there was also a campaign going on for regional head. Next week are national elections where the people choose representatives to the provincial and national parliments. The roads are lined with an incredible number and variety of flags and posters. I am told that there are 44 parties each with different candidiates.
October/November there was also a campaign going on for regional head. Next week are national elections where the people choose representatives to the provincial and national parliments. The roads are lined with an incredible number and variety of flags and posters. I am told that there are 44 parties each with different candidiates.I should also explain that in the presence of many languages, and a high rate of minimal literacy, symbols and pictures are very important here. Each party also has a number which is very important
as they will be listed on the ballot by that number. In the past, the ballots consisted of the symbols of each party printed on a page and the voter poked a hole in the symbol of the party he chose. This time the system is being changed slightly. Instead of poking a hole, they will now have to use a pencil and mark (check or x) the symbol of the party they are choosing. The ballots are quite large (poster sized) because of the large number of candidates and will require special folding.
At the school where I have been teaching I saw a letter posted on the bulletin board from some interchurch body. It said that they had been asked for guidance on voting so they got together and came up with several guidelines. According to them, you
shouldn’t vote for a party which was likely to receive less than 2.5% of the vote as your vote would essentially be wasted since such a party couldn’t win. They also said you should chose a party that wasn’t aligned to a particular religion but should instead vote for a party committed to the rights of all people, and they listed several examples. Then they said you should look for experienced parties which had experience in governing and they narrowed it down to two. Lastly they said you should not belong to the “white party”, the euphemism for those who don’t vote.
shouldn’t vote for a party which was likely to receive less than 2.5% of the vote as your vote would essentially be wasted since such a party couldn’t win. They also said you should chose a party that wasn’t aligned to a particular religion but should instead vote for a party committed to the rights of all people, and they listed several examples. Then they said you should look for experienced parties which had experience in governing and they narrowed it down to two. Lastly they said you should not belong to the “white party”, the euphemism for those who don’t vote.
When discussing that letter with one guy, he objected strongly to the narrowing the choices down to two and he also felt that telling people it was wrong to not vote was wrong too. He felt that people should have the right to not vote if that was their decision.
Out in the village I heard further discusion of the matter. Many said that 44 parties was way too many, how could you even know what they stood for. Some felt that not voting was the best option in the midst of too many choices. One guy opined that y
ou could easily eliminate a lot of them because they were religious parties and had cresent moons and stars in their symbols. (Indeed, it did look a bit like they were electing the Minister of Religion rather than parliment representatives.) I also noticed several posters which had Arabic writing or ladies in headscarves. So eliminating those would narrow the field down quite a bit. Many of the people running are well known in the area. One popular traditional party has as its candidate a former governor. But that governor was on trial for corruption not too long ago. I assume he was cleared or surely he wouldn’t be running for parliment but some locals seemed to write him and his party off because of that case. They apparently assume he was guilty.
ou could easily eliminate a lot of them because they were religious parties and had cresent moons and stars in their symbols. (Indeed, it did look a bit like they were electing the Minister of Religion rather than parliment representatives.) I also noticed several posters which had Arabic writing or ladies in headscarves. So eliminating those would narrow the field down quite a bit. Many of the people running are well known in the area. One popular traditional party has as its candidate a former governor. But that governor was on trial for corruption not too long ago. I assume he was cleared or surely he wouldn’t be running for parliment but some locals seemed to write him and his party off because of that case. They apparently assume he was guilty. Perception is everything.
April 30, 2009
Election day cane and went. Several people at the last minute decided not to vote. Others who did go expressed concern that they had done it incorrectly. As the counts come in, people in general seemed glum. The largest recipient of votes (the party of the current president) garnered only 20% of the votes which means 80% of voters are disappointed. Some expressed amazement that that party had gotten that many votes and immediately speculated that the counting had been rigged. Stories were out about various losing candidates becoming clinically depressed or even suicidal. Only the top 10 of the 48 parties are listed as potentially winning parlimentary seats.
Oh, well, there's another election coming up later this year. That one will be for president. Interestingly, no one seems quite sure when it will be...
No comments:
Post a Comment