I was struck by a quote from Hayat Arslan, who is running for elections in Aley. She said, "What type of democracy in elections is this? When the circumstances decide a person is the winner without consulting the people's opinion then this is not elections at all." (The Daily Star)
For some reason I remembered MP Mosbah Ahdab. In the summer of 2000, when the country was boiling with the heat of the elections then, MP Ahdab ran at the last minute on a third list as an independent with MP Butros Harb in the north, as an alternative to the Omar Karami list and the Ahmad Karami list (close to Hariri). He was lucky and he won. He won despite the 2000 election law, despite the "mahadil" and "boustat", despite the Syrian intelligence influence. He had the people power.
So when someone questions the democracy in these upcoming elections and questions the elections in general (in a Syrian-intelligence free environment, and presence of election monitors), all I can say is: "STOP THE SENSELESS RHETORIC!" And what an amazing marketing tool this talk of lack of choice in these elections. If this runner-up is nominating herself for a seat in Jizzine; I would then definitely understand her situation, but she's running for an Aley seat.
She criticized the "circumstances" that decided who the winners are in Beirut. I tell her: better for it to be circumstances than intelligence officers and intimidation.
I wonder why she is running in the first place if she is that disgruntled with the whole process. Her doubts made a headline in the Daily Star (read article), instead of the fact that she is running to carry women's voice into the Parliament, which in my view should have been a headline and is by far a worthy cause than to talk petty rhetoric.
It's amazing how the Lebanese want a Parliamentary elections of the caliber of the U.K. and France right at this moment! Patience is virtue; we're getting there in time.
"Nobody knows how many rebellions, besides political rebellions, ferment in the masses of life which people earth."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Doha,
Rhetoric is just that: rhetoric.
People have to find excuses for failing to compete. They can be loud, and their anger should be managed, but we shouldn't give them more importance than they deserve.
So relax, cheer up, and enjoy watching their political careers slowly fade out..
Mustapha
The Beirut Spring
I have to agree with you Doha. I just found this blog, and can not avoid showing my disagreement with Raja's earlier piece about Gen Aoun. I a man is a believer in real and deep change, and he states it honestly, it does not mean he is not a good politician. It is a disppointment that Raja thinks that politics goes hand in hand with tazalloff and lying.
A.T.
Doha,
You are absolutely correct, considering that this became a habit of hers (H. Arslan) to collect money at the last minute for the favor of forwarding those few votes to another party (we won't mention any names haha) in the time of political crisis. The ultimate meaning of her rhetoric is usually far off from her stated purooses.
True dat, yo!
As Mustapha says, it's just fun "to [watch] some political careers slowly fade out." As for the candidate in question, one first requires an extant political career in order to fade. I prefer to use the "yo-yo" analogy instead: spinning extremely fast, whizzing toward her goal with great velocity and precision, only to be jerked back forcefully by the shortness of her string.
Post a Comment