I was listening to Newshour on the BBC World Service this morning, and they’ve been covering the elections in Thailand fairly closely.
Citizens are required by law to vote, and spoiling a ballot — tearing it up — is against the law. The reporter speaking from Thailand spoke of seeing one Thai voter being arrested for destroying his ballot.
However, because of that, Thais apparently get the opportunity of voting “none of the above” — of not voting for anyone on the ballot and making it stick. It means that, in idividual constituencies, it is possible, if the “no” vote is 80%, that NO ONE COULD WIN. If there are enough no votes, it would be difficult for anyone to form a government.
I’m no expert on Thailand. I know there is a signficant dispute over the current prime minister and his party, and the opposition is boycotting this election. Some observers are “concerned” about the future of Thai democracy. But I think the idea of being able to cast a real vote for “none of the above,” leaving a particular seat unfilled, is nifty. I’m no longer a fan of voting, especially in federal elections — it is a fairly pointless endeavor given that the results of elections have almost no influence over policy.
But voting for no one, if that could be an option, I like that. “No one” is worth voting for!
8:28 am on April 2, 2006
