What’s Next? [Archives:2001/13/Law & Diplomacy]

Abdulkareem M. Al-Khiwani
With the end of the local council elections, a new experience has been added to the other unuseful ones. Despite the violations and mistakes which occurred during the election process, no one has so far tried to correct them or even consider what happened. It is a pity that misunderstanding has continued although a large sector of the public is aware of the truth.
It is crystal clear that the passing of the referendum on the constitutional amendments was achieved by cheating. This victory did not depend on the support and confidence of the public. It heavily depended on power and public property. The local council elections accompanied the referendum on the constitutional amendments in order to attract as many people as possible, despite the objection of jurists who considered this move as an unconstitutional. So the results do not determine the winner or loser. It is the question of violence which occurred during the election process that must be highlighted. Were the results an end of a war or an end to a battle in a big war?
The violence was not a sudden event . Rather, it was an outcome of fear and worries. So the crisis is not a result of the referendum or the local council elections.
The crisis between the General People’s Congress (GPC) and Islah is not a result of clashes between their ideologies or policies. The two parties are able to accommodate themselves according to their interests. Even the lowly practices such as misusing power and religion to accuse others of treachery and unbelief, have been indulged in jointly by the two parties.
It should be clear that the crisis is a result of cumulative practices which are wrong, political and economic corruption, such as, the degradation of law. It is the lack of fulfillment of their interests that has lead to the crisis. Each of the two parties believes that its interests can be served by to corruption, and their ultimate goal is keeping the current condition as they are.
It seems that a clear understanding the local governance is based on dividing the whole country into zones of influence.

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