Candidacy Solomon style
Good news for women's participation in the electoral process. A record 15 women have registered as candidates for the upcoming national elections. However, methinks there will be a record number of men running in this election as well. It's the atmosphere, it's the times, it's the heady slogans bandied about the street and airways. "Time for change", "A better future", or more prosaically in pijin "samfala niu wan lelbet". It won't hurt that donors will be pouring in a development budget of more than $1 billion Solomon dollars. A billion of any dollars is a lot, and with that sort of budget, its understandable that many would want to try their hand at running a government with [nominally] more to spend than at any point in its history.
Not a day goes by without one meeting a friend, acquaintance or colleague who has that far-off look in his eyes, and says "I'm going to run". When asked "why?", the answer is either "It's time for change", or "I've been asked". And they're right, on both counts. Change of a fundamental sort is long overdue - we have a couple of hundred murdered bodies and an international intervention force to underscore that. But its the second reason that I'm interested in here - people do ask for others to run for office. Too much so, in fact.
The open secret of course, is that when your wantok 'X' asks you to run, and pledges his support, he will be down the road at another wantoks' place doing the same by sundown. It's a quadrennial career for many Solomon men. They drum up support in several places and watch how things come down, then, make their real choice on the spot at election day. These are key players in the vote splitting mechanism of SI politics. This time-honoured strategy involves encouraging, supporting or paying a person from a rival's community, to stand in competition to that rival, splitting the bloc from that community (communities almost always vote with "their man" unless he's really annoyed them recently). This waters down his key support base, with little cost in votes to the rival, who will be relying on his own support base. Incumbents and experienced politicians are often past masters at this, using money and favours to cut off prospective opponents even before the election season. When 3 of your cousins announce their candidacy a week after yours, in a village of 200 people, the game is usually up.
But I started this post with news about women. Why have I used 'he' throughout this? Because it's the accurate term - hardly any women have been major players in these schemes. Let's hope that will remain true for the 15 women candidates come March this year.
That would be real change.
Not a day goes by without one meeting a friend, acquaintance or colleague who has that far-off look in his eyes, and says "I'm going to run". When asked "why?", the answer is either "It's time for change", or "I've been asked". And they're right, on both counts. Change of a fundamental sort is long overdue - we have a couple of hundred murdered bodies and an international intervention force to underscore that. But its the second reason that I'm interested in here - people do ask for others to run for office. Too much so, in fact.
The open secret of course, is that when your wantok 'X' asks you to run, and pledges his support, he will be down the road at another wantoks' place doing the same by sundown. It's a quadrennial career for many Solomon men. They drum up support in several places and watch how things come down, then, make their real choice on the spot at election day. These are key players in the vote splitting mechanism of SI politics. This time-honoured strategy involves encouraging, supporting or paying a person from a rival's community, to stand in competition to that rival, splitting the bloc from that community (communities almost always vote with "their man" unless he's really annoyed them recently). This waters down his key support base, with little cost in votes to the rival, who will be relying on his own support base. Incumbents and experienced politicians are often past masters at this, using money and favours to cut off prospective opponents even before the election season. When 3 of your cousins announce their candidacy a week after yours, in a village of 200 people, the game is usually up.
But I started this post with news about women. Why have I used 'he' throughout this? Because it's the accurate term - hardly any women have been major players in these schemes. Let's hope that will remain true for the 15 women candidates come March this year.
That would be real change.
posted by honiara at 3:13 pm
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