Posted by
Ivan Simic on Wednesday, August 06, 2008 1:48:25 PM
Elections,
decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or party to
hold formal office. This is the usual mechanism by which modern democracy fills
offices in the legislature, sometimes in the executive and judiciary, and for
regional and local government.
During
election campaigns, everybody talks about politicians or rather, candidates,
however there are also some very interesting participants in elections which
are not so much talked about; they are called qualified voters/electors.
Candidates
are the most interesting in the time of elections; they will tell us anything
that will likely lead them to great victory. They will lie, deceive, and
guarantee the impossible, sing and dance, cry and laugh, and all that in order
to win. In that campaign, they will give us so many promises, that if we ask
them just a few hours later about them, they will not remember them, and will
give us new ones in order to deceive us further. Later, if they are elected for
formal office, then they will start giving us excuses for the lost promises in
order to maintain political power.
It is
evident that while campaigning, candidates will tell us things we like to hear
and agree with just to make us think they are good, smart, dedicated, and
considered, amongst other things. However, almost everything they say was
written and prepared in advance for that occasion by the campaign staff in
order to attract more voters. In most cases, especially in democratic systems,
candidates heavily rely on finance from private donors, selected individuals,
groups or industry. If elected, they have an obligation to reimburse supporters
for their contributions by protecting and supporting their businesses, no
matter what that business might be.
We all know
what candidates do, but what about voters?
Voters
are a group of people gathered around to make some decision or express their
opinion often in discussions, debates and election campaigns. Voters support
their favourite candidates, they go to rallies and listen what their favourite
candidates has to say, they analyze them, agree or disagree with them, and in
the end, and they make the final decision on Election Day. However, at the
Election Day, not all of the supporters vote for their desired candidate which
they supported throughout the year, not all voters are faithful to their
candidate.
To make
things more clear, let's use the 2008 United States Presidential Elections as
an example: candidates Barack Obama and John McCain, and qualified voters/electors.
It
appears that Americans are fascinated with democratic candidate Barack Obama,
possibly more so than with any other Presidential candidate in US history; many
talk about him, adore him, and cheer for him.
On the
other side, republican candidate John McCain was selected in the US primaries a
long time before Obama, it was clear that he was chosen one on this side, but
it looks like people are not so hot for him as they are for Obama.
According
to these indicators, we may feel that Barack Obama will become new President of
the United States, but will he?
The
chances for Barack Obama to become the next President may not be as good as
they look. Yes, people are hot for him, but electors are not to be trusted.
Electors like something new, new radical changes, new and different politician,
new ideas, and fresh promises, among others. However, it does not necessary
means they will vote for the same. For Obama it would be better if he had less
attention, his chances to win would be better.
On
Election Day many people change their minds and do the opposite of what they
were saying, promising, cheering and longing for throughout the election
campaign. Voters are just regular people, and on Election Day they realize the
show is over and start thinking in different directions.
Voters
are very interesting; they often say one thing and do other. It is obvious that
voters complain and criticize about certain politicians day by day and in the
end, vote for them. It appears that the more mistakes and scandals a politician
makes and the less he does for the nation, the bigger the chances are that
voters will vote for him, especially for the second time. As an example, take a
look at George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Jacques Chirac, Silvio Berlusconi, among
others.
In the end,
democracy is not like a communist regime; in democracy it may not really be as
important which politician or candidate comes to power, as long as democracy
continues to be the ruling mechanism; as long as they do not take extra power.
The system will continue to work; plans and ideas will continue to be executed,
no matter who is in charge.
The only
thing that is changing is the interests of the financiers or ruling elite who
financed the elected candidate. If financiers are from weapons industry, then there
will be new wars. We may prefer financiers from the toy industry, with toys for
everyone.