Geoffrey Bindman warns against underestimating the power of the ballot box
The low turnout in local and European parliamentary elections in Britain reflects discontent with politicians, for which they must take some responsibility. But there is also a dangerous mood of complacency in many British voters who are far too ready to undervalue the right to vote and take democracy for granted.
Where people have long been denied participation in their government they know the importance of elections and powerful emotions can boil over. Challenges to the outcome are commonplace and perhaps inevitable.
Close supervision and independent monitoring may be needed to reach a fair result. Even that may not be enough. In Afghanistan, United Nations supervision and the presence of thousands of observers have failed to quell controversy. The result may never achieve universal acceptance.
On two occasions I have been an observer at elections in countries whose authoritarian governments had long excluded all or most of their citizens from any participation in choosing their leaders. The relief and hope with which previously disenfranchised people embraced their new opportunity sharply contrasts with the current cynicism of the British electorate.
The democratically elected government of Chile had been overthrown in the bloody military coup led by the late unlamented Augusto Pinochet on 11 September 1973. A military junta under his leadership enforced rigid control over the country for the next two decades but in 1988 under increasing pressure for the restoration of civilian rule Pinochet agreed to submit himself to a limited popular mandate.
A new constitution was introduced which provided for Pinochet’s dictatorial rule as president to come to an end after two further eight-year terms, the second of which would be dependent on a national referendum at which Pinochet’s survival in office would require a two-thirds majority in his favour.
Pinochet’s record naturally raised the suspicion that the ballot would be rigged to ensure his second term. Supporters of democracy who feared that this would happen enlisted the help of foreign observers in the hope that any flaws in the process would be exposed.
I agreed to join a monitoring group recruited in Britain which included several members of Parliament and a bishop. On our arrival in Santiago we were despatched to various parts of the country with somewhat sketchy instructions on our responsibilities.
Initial scepticism
Beforehand I was sceptical about the value of election observation. How could an outsider possibly know what threats or promises had been made to influence individual voters? I was assigned to a rural area near Talca, some four hours train journey south of Santiago, the capital.
To all outward appearances the organisation was impeccable. At several polling stations I was able to see that voters were able to mark their ballot papers in complete privacy and place them in the same type of box with which I was familiar in Britain.
I did not see the boxes collected or the count but the atmosphere of care and concern among the supervisory staff and above all the seriousness and patience of the long lines of voters gave me confidence that the task was being carried out fairly.
My confidence was vindicated by the result. Pinochet’s claim to his second eight- year term was heavily defeated. It must have been a severe shock. If indeed there were attempts to rig the election, the courage of the people of Chile overcame them.
Encouragement
My second experience of election observation was in South Africa in 1994. This time the presence of outside observers was encouraged by the African National Congress, which was anxious to re-assure the world that their expected victory in the first post-apartheid elections was entirely above board.
The United Nations put together a large team of observers to which several member States including the UK contributed. As a member of the UK group I first attended a training conference and was then allocated with a colleague from Guyana to the vast township of Soshanguve, virtually unknown outside South Africa.
Like other segregated areas it did not appear on the official maps, though its population was said to equal the nearby city of Pretoria.
Our first polling station was in a school. We arrived in the early morning long before voting was due to begin. A long line of people stretched from the school door to the distant horizon. We were told that many had been there all night. The excitement and sense of the importance of the occasion were palpable. The head teacher was the presiding officer.
She invited us into her office to meet the other officials and announced that the proceedings would commence with prayers. It was an intensely moving, tearful, experience. As the procession slowly moved forward and we saw the faces of the voters as they emerged from the polling booths, all doubts vanished. The quiet voice of the people was at last being heard.
In some parts of the country, we heard later, errors took place. Some polling stations did not get enough ballot papers. A few ballot boxes were found unsealed, But these were minor problems and when all the observers had reported it was easy enough for the officials at the head of our team to conclude that the election was substantially free and fair.
In Chile and South Africa the voters valued their vote because they had bitter experience of what it was like to live under an undemocratic regime. It would be sad indeed if the British electorate needed such persuasion to shake off their apathy.
