Blogging elections

When it comes to politics and democracies, the media play an important part in informing the population of important events and moulding public opinion of a political situation. Important to cyberdemocracy then, is the electronic media.

A free and responsible media is essential for any democracy. And I guess you don’t quite get a space more free than the blogosphere. Independent thinkers writing freely about their thoughts and ideas for all to read and respond to.

When it comes to elections, we rely on traditional media to cover the event, comment on its legitimacy, uncover the injustices and announce the final results. But, how different would it be if we bloggers were part of the media team responsible for covering the electoral process.

Matthew Buckland, GM of the Mail and Guardian has proposed this very idea to the Independent Electoral commission for South Africa’s next presidential elections next year. “Blogs open up the space for many different voices to be heard.”

According to Buckland, the IEC has responded favourably, it is now just a question of logistics. He said we it would not be logical to expect everyone with a blog to descend on the elections demanding access and permission to report on events.

It has been suggested that various blog aggregators like Amatomu be used to identify the prominent bloggers who write with authority and have an interest and insight into South Africa’s political landscape.

Great idea! There are reports of the public losing trust in the traditional media and it’s ability to give an unbiased report. Bloggers carry a lot of credibility with their readers and followers. And because blogs allow for a more personal account than traditional media, a whole new kind of media coverage can be seen; coverage that includes independent critique and that has a strong support base that thinks it credible.

But what about the voices still not heard within this great free independent blogosphere? Many of the countries rural areas are unpenetrated by the internet. Their lack of infrastructure already puts them at a great disadvantage, it would be great to hear their voices for change and allow them access to information about their political system and all the players with it.

No one solution can possibly solve all the many problems in this country but allowing more voices to speak on issues is a definite step in the right direction.

Obama: a man with a plan

Now when it comes to making full use of the internet and its various tools to promote oneself during an election campaign, American presidential candidate, Barrack Obama is definitely a man with the master plan.

WebPages offer a great opportunity for campaigning, giving out information and, when used effectively, can host a conversation between the voter and their politician. Obama’s election campaign website is a shining example.

The homepage introduces the user to Obama and his running mate, Joe Biden and their campaign as a whole. The user is given a wide range of options from video to merchandise to registration. All a voter would ever need to know about the Obama-Biden campaign is easily and clearly accessible.

Voter registration is an essential part of the election process. If one’s supporters are not registered voters they become meaningless as they cannot change their support into the votes necessary to make it to presidency. The website enables users to register as eligible voters and to verify that they are correctly registered. They can also apply for an absent ballot and find information on political groups in their area so as to promote politically active constituents.

Lack of funding for an election campaign could lead to one’s demise. The costs of running an effective electoral campaign can be extensive. Federal Election Commission Chairman Michael Toner said for a candidate to be taken seriously, they needed to raise at least $100 million.

The internet has proven to be an efficient means of gathering funding. It is reported that on the 16^th of December 2007, Republican Ron Paul collected over $6 million through Internet donations. This is more money than any presidential candidate in US history. Obama’s website gives the user the opportunity to donate money to the campaign on a number of different pages.

In a democracy, voters are enabled to make informed decisions as to who they vote for because they have access to information about a candidate, their manifesto and views on topical issues. Obama does not rely on a media that has been called into question due to bias. He uses his website as a platform to speak to voters about issues that Americans care about. Users can read up on his views on civil rights, the economy, ethics, family, poverty, urban policy, women and of course Iraq, homeland security and foreign policy.

With the feedback application, voters can even respond, challenge and support to his ideas. He also has a blog that can be accessed through his website. As covered in a previous post, effective blogging is an important tool that can yield positive returns.

The use of video and pictures of Obama, his wife Michelle, Bilden and their supports adds a personal touch to the campaign. Michelle Obama has become an integral part of her husband’s campaign making it a great idea to include video footage of her speeches and pictures of her on the road with Biden and Obama.

With the wonders on the e-wallet, where users can purchase goods over the internet, Obama has made merchandise available on his site. One can get golf shirts, golf balls, umbrellas, pins, buttons, summer gear and accessories delivered to their doorstep within 2 weeks of odering and paying online for them.

The internet and its technologies have opened up an entire world of possibilities for communication and campaigning. Barrak Obama is one of the few politicians who have taken full advantage of this.

Could e-voting be the answer?

We saw it in Angola, Kenya and most recently in good-ol’ Zimbabwe. Any real democracy rests on a free and fair electoral process. However, as Africa has shown us time and time again, elections could mean the begin of civil war with no democratic resolution in sight.

Perhaps, if the manner in which elections were carried out would be changed, leaders would be appointed with ease and according to the will of the people.

I took a look at the concept of e-voting to see if it presented a plausible alternative for African elections. E-voting is when states use electronic technologies to either cast or count votes.

So the idea is for the voting process to work just like a trip to the ATM, you would cast your vote using touchscreen technology or a number of buttons. All ballots would be tallied electronically. This could prove to be faster and more effective than the current manual counting.

There are a number of advantages to this electoral system. With computers adding up the votes, there is less room for human error. Audio can be introduced for blind voters and zoom in capabilities would cater for those with poor vision. The screen can be displayed in a number of languages and polling stations can never run out of printed ballots.

Voter turn-out in Zimbabwe sits at less than 20%. This is due to, among many more reasons, the fact that many Zimbabweans have left their country in seek of refuge as where. With e-voting citizens could potentially place their vote from anywhere in the world if the necessary online networks and links were enabled.

South African youth are becoming more computer literate and are becoming regular Internet users. However their political engagement and involvement calls for great improvement. Creating a link between electronic media and voting could increase the number of youth voters in national and provincial elections.

However, e-voting is far from being flawless, especially in Africa. Computer literacy, for both the voters and the facilitators, would be a major hurdle. Electronics do not do away with room for human error as these computers are programmed and used by humans, who are at times impartial.

To fund such a project, the private sector would need to be called on board. Voters would be correct in questioning just how impartial the system would be if it is powered by companies with political clout and business interests.

Thabo Mbeki has been seen as good for business and a strong economy. The same would be hard to say about Jacob Zuma, as some have noted. It is totally plausible that an e-voting system programmed, run and managed by these interest would present Mbeki as the next president even if it were against the will of the people.

Even in America where e-voting has been in use, it is still under much scrutiny and heavily criticised. Democracies work only when the people trust that their vote has been counted fairly and freely. This can never happen with a system with so many flaws.