Defective Election. Because of dangers to named candidates, a large proportion of all candidates seeking elective office in the upcoming Iraqi elections are ANONYMOUS, running only as members of a given political party. The BBC reported on December 15th that "More than 230 parties and groups, gathered into about 80 blocs or alliances have to try to sell their messages amid the violence and chaos."
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That's democracy? I don't think so.
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Iraqis literally have no idea whom they are to vote for.
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How is rule by parties democratic? How is a voter to hold anyone responsible if a collective entity, a political party, imposes "party discipline" and overrules the individual conscience of members of the legislature? This is carrying parliamentary government to a ridiculous extreme, and I'm not persuaded that such a system qualifies as democracy at all.
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Once elected, will the members of the legislature become public, or will they continue to hide behind anonymity? Would we like anonymous elections and government officials here? Would you trust anonymous legislators to serve your interests, or would you expect them to ignore you or crack the whip over you and utterly ignore complaints? Would Americans like to have to send any comments or criticisms we may have to one central mailbox for all the members of a given political party? How responsive is such a government likely to be?
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If conditions are too dangerous to permit election of named individuals, maybe it is not at all wise to hold elections now after all, if all they do is install a government of people who can hide behind anonymity.
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Perhaps government by parties — is there even a word for such a thing? partyocracy?— is a tiny step up from government by people appointed by a military occupier, but is it so BIG a step as to subject the people of Iraq to extraordinary violence in the runup to the election and at polling places on election day?
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Will such a government really have the confidence of the people and be able to give people a feeling of ownership of their government?
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I don't know of any comparable "election" in history and have serious misgivings about the wisdom of proceeding in a way so dangerous to democracy thru so perilous a time. Iraqis are being asked to risk their lives to go to the polls to elect a government of nonentities. Is such a government really worth dying for?
- posted by L. Craig Schoonmaker @ 3:53 PM