... and that is, what are they going to do to ensure that this election is final - that there will no possibility of fraud (or serious fraud, at least - there is probably a bit of fraud in every election around the world), that there will be no claims after the election that there was fraud? If election day will run according to the same system as it did in October, what's preventing the same thing from happening again, or at least claims to that effect?
The Ministry of Interior today announced that things will be different this time around in Bet Shemesh (and Nazareth).
According to Walla News, the people working in the polling stations on March 11, 2014 during the elections will NOT come from the political parties. They will be State employees. They will be professional people with experience managing elections, and no city residents will be included in the staff.
As well, not mentioned in the Walla blurb but I saw it in a different news source, there will be increased police presence around the city. I seem to recall that in totalitarian societies and dictatorships the elections are conducted under heavy police and army presence. I hope this won't be quite like that.
I think the political parties will be able to station observers in each polling station, but they will not have any authority at all.
I doubt it will be perfect, as nothing can be, but it will be as close as possible, if the Ministry of Interior has its way.
------------------------------------------------------
Reach thousands of readers with your ad by advertising on Life in Israel
------------------------------------------------------
Unfortunately, the forgers did not act in a democratic way, so it is superfluous to think that increasing police presence borders on dictatorship. In this case the police are defending democracy. In the last elections, Sh as claimed that HaRav Ovadia Zatzal would BS looking at what people were voting. That also should be illegal.
ReplyDeleteWhat about all of the non-Beit Shemesh haredim from outside of Beit Shemesh who changed their address to Beit Shemesh last Spring/Summer to participate in the 'Holy War' against the "hiloni candidate' Changing your address, unfortunately, is a VERY a simple matter and when you don't have a day-job there is plenty of time for such things -- how will the Ministry of the Interior be able to weed THEM out??? Unless I am missing something, alll of the poll-observers in the world would be fairly powerless against this phenomenon - i.e. if it makes it to election day, it's too late.
ReplyDeleteWho manned the polling stations in the previous election? Surely the staff are not political appointees?
ReplyDeleteAnd as for fraud, I remember a BS resident offering his brother voting slip for sale. Oh wait, that was you....
All staff in israeli elections are political nominations. Instead of providing temp work for unemployed, instead, it is people with connections who just happen to find out when the call for workers goes out.
Delete