02 Jan 2022  |   05:18am IST

WHEN WINNABILITY IS THE ONLY ABILITY IN CHOICE

If legislators are to perform their role of legislating, isn’t it the parties that must select candidates capable of doing so?
WHEN WINNABILITY IS THE ONLY ABILITY IN CHOICE

Alexandre Moniz Barbosa

With established politicians and aspiring politicians seeking out the finest possible vehicle for 2022 – the best-oiled engine with the most horsepower that will drive them comfortably to the destination that is the Legislative Assembly – the debate on electoral reforms gets ignited once again. In the current din of political charges and counter charges, of shifting loyalties and changing colours, questions that require to be asked are why are these politicians going to the Legislative Assembly? Do they want to go there to serve the land and the people? What are the criteria political parties are using to select their candidates? Also, do parties have proper policies and plans for the State, policies that will give Goa the direction it requires?

Choice of candidates and the policies of the parties are going to be crucial during the coming days this month and the next. And are the political parties up to it? Let’s take up the question of selection of candidates first.

Just some weeks ago, there had been political parties that had asked the people to choose candidates from among themselves and suggest names, which the parties will then choose from. Herald has been advocating this strategy for candidate selection for the past few months – that people’s candidates, those who have the backing of the electorate of the constituencies from which they stand be fielded. So, will there be people’s candidates in the 2022 election? That can happen only if the parties are serious about listening to the choice of the people and are not merely paying lip service to the suggestion. But as the date for the announcement of the elections looms near – it is expected any day this week – parties appear to have forgotten the people and are concentrating on the winnability of the individual as the main, and in some cases the only criterion, in their selections. 

It would never be easy to change a system that parties have adopted for years in choosing who they want to represent them as their candidate. They still follow the top down system of selecting candidates, where it is the party that decides who will contest based on their criteria of winnability and not of what the people want. But this system has led to a feeling of being left out among party workers, and it is beginning to manifest itself in the open. Even the ruling party has faced the displeasure of its workers in certain constituencies where it has welcomed and where it plans to draft established politicians from other parties or Independent MLAs. 

Selecting people’s candidates, however, would be worth experimenting with. Goa, with small sized constituencies, where people are known to each other and there is a certain familiarity at play, would have been the best for such an experiment. But time is now short and Goa has missed the opportunity that won’t come for another five years. 

Besides getting people’s candidates and the best possible choice, there are also other benefits if the people are presented with the opportunity to select who they want to represent them, there can be no cause for regrets later. Besides, since it is the people who would have selected the candidates, they could not then point fingers at the party when situations change during the term or there are defections. It would be their selection that had gone wrong and they would have the opportunity to make it right again at the next election. 

It may be difficult to bring this change in candidate selection, but people when voting can still look to weed out the undesirables, by looking at the positions candidates take on certain issues, their leadership qualities, their experience and in the case of Goa their loyalty to the symbol. With the number of MLAs crossing sides in Goa, there may actually have to be a legislation that makes it binding for candidates to belong to a party for a minimum period before the party can reward them with a ticket. Unless this is done, a person who joins a party on a given day can be rewarded with a ticket the next day. This has occurred in the past, and it can always happen again.

Some change in candidate selection, however, will be forthcoming this election. One such is the Election Commission making it mandatory for all parties to explain why they have selected candidates with a criminal background and why they could not field candidates without a criminal blemish to their name. 

Earlier, candidates had to reveal the criminal cases that stand against their name, but this explanation from the parties should force them to seek out individuals who do not have a criminal record. Simultaneously, the ECI has already set up teams to check on unusual financial transactions that could have a bearing on the political campaign. Preventing the abuse of money during the campaign that can lure voters is also important so that the elections can be held freely.

This brings us to the question of why are the politicians seeking to represent the constituencies in the Assembly? It is here that the policies that parties present to the electorate turn important. Currently, parties that have made promises are talking of freebies and doles. Do Goans require this or do they need proper economic, employment, environment, tourism policies that will pave the way for the growth of the State? The offer of schemes and doles may attract voters, but does it in any manner help the economy of the State? 

In offering candidates to the electorate, the parties have to also ensure that these men and women are capable of formulating policies and enacting legislation for the advancement of the State in all sectors. That is the reason why legislators are elected – to legislate. It is unfortunate that this is often forgotten or overlooked and the legislators are reduced to trouble shooting for their voters with government departments. The role of the legislator has been diluted considerably, but if parties are able to give the electorate a proper choice of candidates this too can change. All it requires is for the political parties to take the first step.


IDhar UDHAR

Idhar Udhar