Tue, Mar 14, 2000 page10

• Polls in Spain, Taiwan show the world how democracy works

  A Spanish observer, who has lived in Taiwan for over 21 years, compares the election in Spain with the election in Taiwan and remains hopeful for the future

  • By Santiago Ruperez
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  On Sunday, Spain went to the polls to elect a new Congress and Senate and, as a consequence, a new president of the kingdom who will be elected from the political party that obtains a majority in the national ballots.

  Traditionally, the number one politician who leads the candidates' nomination list presented by his party in the Madrid electoral district is the one who is appointed president after ratification by Congress. (The Senate has to approve the final decision of the Congress).

  If the elected political party has obtained an absolute majority, ratification proceeds smoothly. Otherwise, the simple majority in Congress will suffice to appoint him as president. If after 60 days the new elected president is not able to select and form a new government, the King has the authority to dissolve Congress and call for new elections.

  Taiwan goes to the polls on Saturday to directly elect the president of the ROC for the second time in the political history of the country.

  From my house in Taipei, I have been following the highly interesting developments of the electoral campaigns in both Spain and Taiwan. Every day I read about, listen to and comment on those developments using the Internet, newspapers, radio, TV, telephone and personal contacts with my friends in Taiwan and the few Spaniards that visit here. During the last days of the campaign, especially, I have been witnessing in both countries a deterioration of the level of respect and education among the participants. We know that a democratic system might not be the best possible choice to run a country, but nevertheless, the ugliness of the current campaigns in both countries is evident to everyone.

  In Spain, around 30 different political parties are disputing the ballots. In Taiwan, there are five official candidates that offer various options to voters.

  The Spanish territory is more than 14 times the size of Taiwan, but our population is less than 40 million inhabitants. We can say that we have a country that certainly is divided by numerous political parties. Our political choices are six times greater than in Taiwan.

  It seems that with so many possibilities, Spaniards should be more content and happy. But the real fact is that we have been experiencing a campaign even dirtier than in Taiwan.

  The question that comes to my mind is obvious: Why?

  Are not we forgetting the real purpose of this precious right to be able to elect someone who will be running the country in the near future?

  Each one of us has the right to choose and to belong to a political party that is in accordance with our own personal ideas. This is the basic right of democracy, a concept that countries with governments run by one "official party" will never understand. No matter how imperfect the system might be, it is still far ahead of all totalitarian regimes.

  But let us not forget that a political party in any democratic country is just that, a "part" of the whole society. If that "part" is only interested in the destruction or in the absorption of other parts, then it is not a real part of the whole.

  The existence of political parties should clearly express a plurality working for the well-being of the entire country.

  A plurality that excludes the different opinions and ways of actions of the rest of society -- proclaiming itself the only guardian of truth and possessor of the right methods to conduct matters of state -- is the same as totalitarian rule.

  It seems that with the heat of the current campaign everything is getting out of focus. Voters nationwide should ask the candidates to explain how their different political programs will work for the common good of the country as a whole.

  This is the only possible and honest way for voters to choose the party or the candidate with whom they feel most comfortable.

  Santiago Ruperez was the former director of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan, serving in the post for 21 years. He has recently returned to Taipei, after a brief sojourn in Spain.
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