Tuesday, March 03, 2009
On the democratic process - Russian style
Last Sunday along with Shrovetide it was also the local mayor elections. Usually Russians are so discouraged about any sort of elections that hardly anyone turns up. So this year in order to pick up their numbers there was an incentive system. Just for turning up on election day one could get a discount card, which is valid until the end of the year. There was even a choice of cards - one for supermarket, one for a petrol station, one for pharmacy - so you were free to choose as long as they were still available (most of the petrol ones were gone in the first hour after the polling stations opened). So what do you know - loads of people turned up. It doesn't matter so much that there was one "real" candidate - ie. the current mayor - who won the election with a massive 73%. Initially Grandma wasn't going to go and vote, but after Dad told her about the discount card she went and voted... so one can safely say that this democratic incentives system works!!!
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I like to read your blog. It is very enterting and full of stories. I hope you have a good time with your family and work expeierence.
ReplyDeleteHere in Melbourne one day we have it hot over 30 deg and the next day you pulling out the winter jumper.
Having the had the first rain on Wednesday since November that feels good. Lots of plants look dead and my tree-ferns have all fonts burned. Enjoy Emmi
Not too different from the Australian system - they also give an incentive: the "you won't get fined type". The carrot and the stick...
ReplyDeleteHa! Except the fine here in Oz for not voting is less than a third of what you get for walking your dog without a leash.
ReplyDeleteThe whole incentive thing is like what they did in Melbourne Uni to make sure the lefties don't get voted in - I think in 2003 or so the lefties neglected to file their election forms in time and so couldn't run. Some conservative student party won. Their first act was to institute a system of "incentives" in the form of an $8 food voucher. All of a sudden students turned out in droves to vote - eg the bleary eyed (and hungry) engineers who don't normally give a $#%@, and now voted for "not-spending-our-fees-on-staging-violent-protests", outvoting the vocal left. Ahh democracy.