USA Elections 2000 That is What True Democracy is all about [Archives:2000/46/Focus]

Walid Abdulaziz Al Saqqaf
California, USA
“Now I understand that my vote counts” is a phrase that was heard again and again on several US and international TV channels after the college vote count was announced in the state of Florida. I dedicate this article to this magnificent historical event, which we should learn from as we witness this unprecedented US presidency race. The points I would like to point at can be summarized as follows:
First :
Even though most Americans wanted Bill Clinton to serve for a third term (based on a survey), yet the US constitution was strictly followed. This means that even if there were no other candidates fit for the presidency except Clinton, he could not run for office because this violates the US constitution. The idea of not enabling any president to serve more than two terms was first introduced by the first American president George Washington to prevent the monopolizing of power. I hope that Arab leaders (forming a democratic system in their countries) understand how important this is for true democracy.
Second:
Presidential nominees should not be favored by any means and in any way by the state. Interestingly, this falls in total contrast with the conditions in Arab countries, in which the government supports its candidates financially and morally, directly and indirectly.
What happened in the USA was astonishing, not for Americans, but for the rest of the world, especially the third world countries. Actually, George W. Bush seemed to have had an upper hand in the advertisement campaign, despite the fact that the opponent was the vice president.
Third:
A close race is actually a good indication of a democratic system. Unlike what some people think, a premature democracy is usually the one that widens the gaps between qualified candidates. In contrast to that, a close race indicates that people are free in their choice and that there was no pressure whatsoever on any of them neither by the state, nor by powerful institutions.
Fourth:
Proof that in any election every vote counts. This fact has been quite clear in the last few days as the closeness of the race caused all people involved to understand that each single vote can indeed make a difference. This was enough to make millions of young Americans to be more attracted to politics.
Some people may say that I am talking as if I am a USA ally, or leaning towards the US. But this is what we see on the ground, and if it would have happened anywhere else in the world, I would have done the same thing. It is wise to admit that a system with such strong democracy should be hailed, and taken as an example. This election should particularly be of interest for an emerging democracy like Yemen. It is true that the USA didn’t reach this level of democracy overnight, but after hundreds of year of evolution. But this still doesn’t prevent us from learning from it, and trying to understand its positive and negative sides.
A change to a truly democratic system can never be achieved by lip service only. It needs a commitment and sometimes a painful sacrifice by the leader of the country. In our case, I am proud to state that our president has indeed announced his will to sacrifice in not running for a third term in office. This not only adds to his credit as the democratic transformer of the country, but also as the humble president who wishes to demonstrate how serious he is about forming a truly democratic system based on the peaceful transfer of power. I believe that he is a man who could prove to be different from other Arab leaders, and who could let Yemen be a model country in the region. In my heart I do believe that there is hope for Yemen to be even more democratic than the US if the leadership and the people wanted to. It only requires commitment and effort by our leadership and people. The first we do have, but the latter (effort) is still to be made. Will we make it? Let’s wait and see.

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