What Has been Built on Weakness Cannot be Strong! [Archives:2001/08/Viewpoint]

During the last two days, I received more than 100 letters, faxes, phone calls, and even emails from candidates and representatives of different political parties, all accusing each other, all insulting each other. The election hysteria reached its peak yesterday as we witnessed the madness of some candidates who ordered the posting of thousands of posters in no more than 1 sq km of areas due to the shortage of time.
Every day, people tell me that the decision to hold these elections in such a short time was a hasty decision that resulted in many faults during the preparation stage for the elections.
Islah, as well as many other political parties, was frustrated from what it saw as violations in candidate lists, in campaigning, and in media coverage. The tens of people killed during the few weeks is an indication that there has been something wrong. There was a misjudgment in holding such a huge process in such a limited time. We are a country still in the learning stage. We are yet to be used to regular parliamentary elections, yet we are trying to jump to tremendously advanced local council elections with so little time and preparations, with relatively no experience, and with no clear guidelines and conditions.
In other words, I won’t be surprised if the whole process turns out to be a total failure. From the opinion poll of this issue’s first page itself, we felt that it has at least failed to convince many to go to the polls. It will also not surprise me if indeed, Islah, which is threatening to withdraw from the elections, does indeed withdraw and put the ruling party in a difficult situation, alone, shocked and disappointed.
Life taught us that whenever we do our homework in advance, study well, make precautions, organize, and plan ahead, there will be little chance in failure. But life also taught us that if we don’t prepare well, don’t take into account the consequences of neglect, disorganization, and ignorance till the last day before the exam, we will probably fail.
Hence, I do not want you, as our reader, or any other intellectual, either in the PGC or in any other party to be surprised if the process fails or at least leads to what some may call ‘unjust results.’
After all, whatever is built on weakness cannot be strong.

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