The opposition’s call for a Parliament meeting about vote-buying (see related story) is intriguing. The latest accusation of such is directed against a current coalition partner, although of course he was elected on the United People’s (UP) party
candidate list.
It’s the UP that was involved in the first and only vote-buying trial so far targeting various – former – law enforcement officers convicted of taking money in exchange for pledging their votes. However, the party’s top was never charged, or not yet anyway.
Deputy leader Franklin Meyers in submitting the request for a debate said they want insight into the Justice Minister’s policy regarding the issue. He added that the practice must be clearly defined.
The Member of Parliament (MP) might be referring to the fact than in theory even handing out campaign goodies as innocent as a T-shirt could be seen as coercing the voter with material benefits or favours. In reality, when it comes to investigating these cases there’s an obvious difference between, for example, offering prospective supporters a beer and paying their utility bill for them.
The Minister may have his thoughts on the topic, but ultimately it’s the Prosecutor’s Office that determines whether and how to go after suspected offenders. People should keep in mind as well that it’s simply not possible to prosecute each and every crime, so sentences also act as deterrents to stop others from doing the same.
An aspect that is often overlooked in this discussion concerns the possibility nowadays to provide proof of actually voting for someone by taking a cell phone picture of the filled-in ballot inside the voting booth that can be used as a sort of invoice to collect the reward. It’s been said before: keeping electronic devices out of the polls altogether is an option, but would require searching voters and possibly holding on to their property while they exercise their democratic right.
Then again, vote-buying is not the greatest threat anymore, as there is at least one unspecified allegation of attempts to buy an entire Parliament seat, revealed in the legislature where its members enjoy immunity when they speak. This is also one of the reasons why electoral reforms are being sought urgently to combat so-called “ship-jumping.”
The idea is that if parliamentarians who declare themselves independent cannot help form a new government, their seats are also worth less. Whether the envisioned changes are still feasible for the upcoming elections very much remains to be seen, but perhaps the meeting now requested will at least help shed some light on the matter.
