Photo: Sarmite Feldman –
The information exhibition “Electoral Bulletin”, which can be viewed at the “CATA” House of Culture, underlines the importance of voting in democratic elections.
“A small but important voting tool: the ballot. The Bulletin has played an important role in democracy and is the smallest example of democracy. We have had the opportunity to participate in democratic elections for only a hundred years, there are many countries in which elections are not democratic, “said Stefans Eriksson, director of the office of the Nordic Council of Ministers in Latvia, at the opening of the exhibition and stressed that Cēsis is the capital of democracy in Latvia and is associated with the” Lampa “festival. .
The exhibition includes ballots not only from the countries of the Baltic Sea region, but also from Bangladesh, Vietnam, Chile and others. The curator of the exhibition, Max Valentin, has studied about three thousand ballot papers, starting from the postwar years.
“Like everything else, ballot papers are also in fashion,” says the researcher and adds that Latvian electoral lists have an interesting history. The exhibition shows the election ballot of the 4th Saeima in 1931.
“After the First World War, many countries became democratic, including Latvia. The tendency was to choose the French vote, one party list on each list. After the Soviet era, Latvia renewed the same bulletins. They exist. more bulletins of this type in Sweden, Israel, France, Norway. In the 1990s, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, many countries chose German rather than French ballots. Lithuania too. Lists of all parties are written on one page “, says M. Valentīns and adds that perhaps Latvia’s good relations with Sweden have helped to choose the type of ballot papers currently used in our country. Lithuania looked more to Poland, to Germany. Estonia has taken over the Finnish list system. Before it was very complicated and incomprehensible, now it is very simple: a blank page, the voter writes the name of the candidate.
“North Korea, which does not even want to pretend to be democratic, also holds elections. Likewise, Belarus. Then a tense situation develops during the elections. In 2020, the opposition in Belarus created a mechanism. alternative voting: the “Golos” platform appeared on the Internet, where people posted photos of their ballot papers. And all the supporters of the change wore white wristbands, folded the “accordion-shaped” ballots and handed them thrown in the bins. The ballot boxes were transparent, you could see the folded ballots and make sure of the false count of the votes. The vote played a key role in the struggle for democracy “, said M. Valentin.
Elīna Kalniņa, researcher of cultural and historical heritage and responsible for the “Fire of Conscience”, recalled that it is important to know that the first undemocratic and unconstitutional elections in Latvia were held on 14 and 15 July 1940, a few weeks after the occupation. of Latvia. Without waiting for polling stations to close, it was officially announced that 97.6% of voters had voted for candidates on the only electoral list – the Labor People’s Bloc. “The first spoiled Soviet ballots are in the Occupation Museum. One voter wrote:” God bless Latvia! “Another:” I am against! “The damage was a crime. They were kept in the museum’s collection, because for such behavior criminal proceedings were initiated and ballots were found in court proceedings “, says E. Kalniņa and points out that this shows that people did not care, they reacted as they could, understanding what these elections are like.
Ballot papers in Bangladesh are quite different. There, 80% participate in elections, but only 70% of the population can read and write. Therefore, in the electoral lists, candidates for the post of deputy are marked with symbols: elephant, stork, violin and others. In South Africa, the presidential ballot has the portraits of all the candidates. Also so that even those who cannot read can participate.
M. Valentīns also assessed that, unfortunately, voter turnout in Latvia is decreasing. But in Sweden, 83 per cent of voters took part in the latest elections, compared with 87 per cent in the previous one. The researchers concluded that if there are less democratic processes within parties, voters are less interested in politics and elections, “says M. Valentīns. In Europe, only in Belgium and Malta is it compulsory to participate in elections, otherwise State must pay a fine.
“Will there be newsletters in the future? Many countries have tried electronic voting, but only Estonia uses it. They are confident in their system.
Of course, electronic voting would reduce costs and speed up results, but it would also reduce the number of people involved in elections. There are 30,000 volunteers in Sweden. Resistance would be great. Traditional voting is also possible in Estonia, half voting with paper ballots, half electronically. I don’t understand how Estonians respect the Convention on Human Rights, because one family member can influence the choice of another. Yes, you can change your vote at a later time, but the opinion that someone influenced does not disappear “, expresses the researcher and remember that the convention states that it is not your duty to vote in secret, but it is the duty of the state to secure it.
The exhibition contains a lot of information on elections in different countries. Maybe a chance to see the Ethiopian urn. It must be suspended in the air so that a fake card cannot be inserted from below. It is interesting to take a look at the US election stand. Each country has its own traditions, but democratic elections everywhere have one goal: to elect those we trust.
The polling station will start working in “CATA” as early as next week. “The ballot paper is not just a piece of paper, but a symbol of democracy. The elections are close and everyone should use the opportunity to find out more about elections in other countries and choose who to vote for,” said Atis Egliņš – Eglītis, vice president of the Cēsu County Council.
The “Election Bulletin” exhibition is one of the events of the Nordic Week that will take place next week. Subsequently, the exhibition will be exhibited in Riga and Daugavpils.
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