Trapped... in a List

In this week's Camino de Ítaca a different look at the upcoming regional and municipal elections here in Spain. A long term emmigrant's perspective on voting here in Extremadura. Click over to read the original article publishhed in el HOY in Spanish or read the English version below. (PDF en castellano abajo)

Democracy exists somewhat as a textbook word for me. It’s something that I have learned about, somewhat understand and strongly believe in. But it’s also something I have rarely been able to actually take part in. That’s because for most of my adult life I’ve lived abroad, politically exiled by both countries I hold passports to.  

Both Canada, the country of my birth, and the United Kingdom, the land of my father’s birth, are suspicious of long-term emigrants. In a particularly petty, vindictive move, both countries revoke their citizens’ right to vote after just five years living abroad. Over the years my chances to have my say politically have mostly been in print rather than the ballot box.  

Here in Spain my voting options have recently changed. While I can vote in the municipal elections, thanks to a bilateral agreement between Spain and the UK, regional and, somewhat more understandably, national elections remain out of my reach. I used to have a choice in the European elections, but that was before the UK lost its mind and communally committed harikari with Brexit.  

The right to choose is vital in any state that holds any pretentions of being modern and progressive. The dark decades of not being able to express any choice are thankfully long behind Spain and it is now one of the freest countries in the world. But even for those, unlike me, who can vote here, how much say do you really have in choosing who will represent your interests? Can you put a name and face to the individual who will be defending what’s best for you?

The answer is…complicated.

That’s because Spain, along with a dubious list of countries that include the likes of Algeria, Burkina Faso, Togo and Turkey, has a closed list voting system. One in which voters are free to vote for political parties as a whole, but in which they have no influence on the party-supplied order in which party candidates are elected. This means that the order of candidates elected is fixed by the party itself and voters are not able to express a preference for a particular candidate. 

The candidates positioned highest on this list have a greater chance in obtaining a seat in the parliament while the candidates positioned very low on the closed list will not. This creates a sycophantic atmosphere within the party where the candidates’ loyalty lies more with the party than with the people. A party whose broader interests may be in conflict with those of the electorate.

The ongoing saqueo byIberdrola of our reservoirs or the extremely unpopular proposed lithium mine a mere 2kms away from the UNESCO core of Caceres and atop its aquifer are clear examples of these conflicting stances.

Political parties can be useful mechanisms to group together people who share similar ideologies and beliefs, but when they become de facto business entities more interested in their own interests rather than those of the electorate, change is seriously in order.

If I had the choice, I would want to be able to choose the individual acting on my behalf and not some political corporation whose instinct is its own survival.