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Politics : Moderate Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: zonder who wrote (3520)	9/12/2003 8:59:48 AM
From: Brumar89	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 20773

I don't believe for a minute people like Assad rule by concensus. I know you appreciate my use of google so here's an article I turned up on parliamentary elections under the regime of the current Assad. Chronicle of an election foretold Syrian parliamentary elections held few surprises. Sherine Bahaa reports "Why should Syria have a genuine democracy if no other Arab state does?" a political analyst asked, in response to criticism that the results of Syrian parliamentary elections announced last week were "preordained". Critics highlight the fact that the elections failed to put any new faces in parliament. Syrian Interior Minister Ali Hammoud told reporters that the ruling National Progressive Front (NPF), an alliance of leftist and nationalist parties led by the Ba'ath Party, won 167 seats -- the same number it won during the seven previous elections held over the past three decades. The 83 remaining seats went to independents. Some seven million people went to the polls, a turnout of 63 per cent, down from the last election in 1998 when approximately 82 per cent of those eligible cast their votes. The election was the first since Western- educated Bashar Al-Assad succeeded his father, the late Hafez Al- Assad, as president three years ago and introduced a measure of political freedom in the socialist republic. Five new opposition political groupings boycotted the polls, after the government ignored their demands for amendments to the electoral law that would make their parties legal. Patrick Seale, an expert on Syrian politics, told Al- Ahram Weekly, "The results were to some extent preordained -- not much was left to chance." Seale, who has had extensive contacts among Syria's ruling elite since the era of the late Al-Assad, added, "The ruling party has always had the majority of seats. They have a number of seats reserved for them." As for the seats that went to independents, a Paris- based Syrian opposition figure who spoke to the Weekly on condition of anonymity is not optimistic that those MPs will have a positive impact on the country's political scene. He said that some of the businessmen who won seats in parliament as independents had been implicated in various scandals. "This phenomenon did not exist under President Hafez Al-Assad. Today votes can be bought. I don't see that as a healthy way to elect our parliamentary representatives." Three years after Al-Assad said he would implement political reforms, few seem to have materialised. Underlining this situation was the arrest last year of two members of parliament, Riyad Seif and Mamoun Al-Hosmi, after they had called for increased political freedoms. Notably, their parliamentary immunity failed to keep the two independents from being incarcerated because of their demands. And while some observers concede that people seem less afraid to express their views and the press is somewhat freer, people such as the Paris-based opposition figure want to see freedoms enshrined in the law. Al-Assad broached the topic of political reform, albeit in an oblique manner, last week during the first session of the new parliament. "Some misunderstood what I meant by democracy in my inaugural speech. They understood it to mean an attack against history and against our national symbols." According to Seale, though, reform is proceeding in other spheres. "Bashar is trying to reform other aspects of life, like the education system and the centralised economy, but without touching the political structure of the nation." Al-Assad, in his speech to parliament, focussed on Syria's human capital challenges, saying "administration is the weak point of the country. We have a shortage of qualified people." Al-Assad's interest in human development precedes his assuming the presidency. The young leader was interested in promoting education -- especially opportunities afforded by Internet technologies. He recently signed an agreement with French President Jacques Chirac to have French experts in a variety of fields teach in Syria. The first team of those experts is expected this month. With respect to the economy, the opposition figure suggested that the state has done little to foster growth. The country's press has been particularly critical in this respect. weekly.ahram.org.eg I prefer our system. Was it Bush's brother who rigged the elections for him? No. It's easy to charge that but hard to prove. Didn't they found ballot boxes left uncounted in garbage dumps? No. Is it not true that you cannot say for certain that Bush is properly elected by majority votes? I can say for certain that Bush was elected by a majority of votes in the electoral college - something that exists because our founders wrote it into the constitution. He didn't receive a majority of the popular vote though. (Actually no one did, though Gore did get more popular votes than Bush.) About once a century, the popular vote result turns out different than the electoral vote. Personally, I'd scrap the electoral system, but that's hard to do as it would require an amendment to do so. The last election was close, very close. And close elections are messy. Nevertheless, I prefer our system to any other I know of. Assad's election pales in comparison to that of Bush. No comment required.