January 10, 2005
CONTAGION:
Analysts See Palestinian Elections as Positive Step for Region (Greg LaMotte, 09-January-2005, VOA News)
According to political analysts in the Arab world, regional interest in the Palestinian election is not focused on who will win. Rather, they say, Arabs are paying more attention to the fact that the election is being held at all.According to the head of the political science department at Lebanese-American University in Beirut, Sami Baroudi, the election is helping to show the rest of the Arab world that even during times of political, social and economic turmoil, elections can be held.
"I think most citizens, when they see elections are being held despite all the difficult conditions in Palestine, the occupation and everything, that would probably be a sign that in our society we can also have elections," he said. "So, I think most people appreciate that those elections are taking place. How much they think there is really a choice available for the Palestinians, I would say there is a question. But, I do not see anybody in the Arab world objecting to the notion of elections taking place."
"To my mind, in fact, I feel it is important for the Palestinians to show the Arab world that even the Palestinians, who are under occupation, are practicing democracy, and they have transparency and the international community is observing the credibility of the process of the elections," said Abdullah al-Ashaal, former Egyptian ambassador and expert on Arab relations.
Mr. al-Ashaal says the Palestinian elections are an important benchmark for the rest of the Arab world, especially in Iraq and Saudi Arabia, where voters in those countries will also being going to the polls this year.
Who do these Arabs think they are, acting like democrats... Posted by Orrin Judd at January 10, 2005 12:00 AM
What kind of elections can illiterate, superstitious societies with no tradition of free and open debate really have?
Posted by: Bart at January 10, 2005 6:46 AMrather normal ones
Posted by: oj at January 10, 2005 7:46 AMAnd the precedent for that is? Every single other functioning democracy in the world became a modern civilized society before the democratized. When you fail to do this, you become Zimbabwe, and one election once becomes the norm.
Posted by: Bart at January 10, 2005 11:06 AMIt's no different than an El Salvador, Nicaragua, South Africa, Indonesia, Turkey, the Philippines, etc.
Posted by: oj at January 10, 2005 11:39 AMAnd any of those are functioning democracies?
Nicaragua is about to bring back Little Danny Ortega, South Africa is a one party racist kleptocracy with astronomical rates of AIDS and street crime, Indonesia has had a democracy for what 5 years, most Turks want the military back in power, the Philipines are a disaster.
What is going to happen in 'Palestine' is that the rulers are going to do what demagogues always do, and that is to divert people's attention from their real problems and focus their minds on an enemy, either internal or external. The leadership will declare a national emergency, and in true Baathist tradition form a one-party state, like Syria or Egypt. Not even the merest scintilla of development will flow down to the masses.
The only permitted opposition will be from Islamist loony toons who will scare the propertied classes, such as they are in such a downtrodden place, to support the government at all costs. It works for Assad and Mubarak.
Posted by: Bart at January 10, 2005 12:19 PMAll of them are not only functioning but functioning as well as most European democracies did in their early days--no Terror, no Civil War, no Jim Crow, no Gulag, no Holocaust, no World Wars, etc..