On the prospects of Israeli overseas voting

Haaretz online version carries an editorial "Don't let Israelis vote abroad". The editorial is written in reaction to a proposal raised by the incoming governing partners Likud-Yisrael Beiteinu.

Whilst the underlining motifs behind the proposal are sinister electoral calculations (the rightwing is hoping to score more votes if out-of-country-voting is established) and racism (hoping to diminish the Arab influence in Knesset), the Haaretz rebuttal also raises some questions. If the Zionist concept that Israel is the national home of all Jews around the world is to be upheld, wouldn't overseas voting be a logical consequence?

Different countries have different legislations of overseas voting, some have no such mechanism (Denmark) whilst others have rather elaborate overseas voting mechanisms (Italy, Ecuador). Generally speaking, states which put emphasis on diaspora relations tend to have more generous rules to allow non-resident citizens to vote. In the Italian electoral system, there are even four extraterritorial parliamentary constituencies; North America, South America, Europe and Africa-Asia-Australia. There are parties uniquely based in the Italian diaspora in South America, and Italian parliamentary elections are preceded by intense election campaigning amongst the Italian communities in countries like Argentina. Considering the Zionist discourse on the link between the Jewish diaspora and the State of Israel, the fact that Israel is one of the states that doesn't allow overseas voting is a bit odd. From a Zionist perspective, that is.

It's not really my task to decide on internal Israeli matters, and I suppose the proposal will pass through various stages of wrangling before becoming a reality. As per the diminish Arab influence, the problem shouldn't be overrated. In the racist order of Israeli politics, the Arab parties are a pariah in Knesset and are never included in governing coalitions anyway. I'm not a full-fledged expert on Israeli domestic politics, but are there any cases were proposals raised by Arab parties have been passed as legislature? As per the prospect of Avigdor Lieberman doing his campaign work in Minsk or Moscow rather than the streets of Tel Aviv, that would just contribute to illustrate the non-link of Lieberman and his party colleagues to the lands of the Middle East.

But the debate on overseas voting in Israel should also be noticed on the Palestinian side, especially as there are reforms in the PLO. The PLO is the para-statal organization representing the entire Palestinian people. But its institutions are dominant and its leadership is appointed by agreements of political factions, not general elections. The creation of the Palestinian National Authority after Oslo has led to the side-lining of the PLO and creating cleavages between the Palestinians living under occupation and those in exile. In order to have a leadership fully representative of the entire Palestinian people, there the Palestinian National Council ought to formed through elections, be it in Jerusalem, Nablus, Gaza and the refugee camps across the Arab world. That would create a PLO that could negotiate with the enemy on more equal terms.

Update on Cairo talks

According to Walid Awad, who represents the Palestinian People's Party at the Cairo unity talks, the Steering Committee will continue discussions whilst the thematic working groups have concluded their work. The Steering Committee will try to resolve differences on the main stumbling points that remain. According to Awad, there are four issues around which discussion will continue:
-PLO: How to run the organization in the transitional phase until a new Palestinian National Council has been formed.
-Government: The programe and form of a unity government, and its relations to the Palestinian Legislative Council.
-Security: How to integrate the various security services into a single organization
-Elections: Different proposals on electoral systems are to be discussed. There will also be discussions on the transitional period preceding the elections.

Source: PPP website
News links: Telegraaf

Leftwing victory in El Salvador

In case you've missed out on the news, the leftist opposition party FMLN won yesterday's presidential election in El Salvador. This is a significant shift in the relation of power in the Central American region, the US has lost its last firm ally in the vicinity.

Amongst other issues, FMLN stands up for an independent foreign policy. Just as a reminder, the party took a strong position against the Gaza massacre. Their statement from December 28, 2008 can be read in full here (en castellano).

Blogs: Esbati, SKP, Biologi & Politics, Hans Linde, Ida Legnemark, Esteban, Frasse, KABOBfest, Pulse, Pragoti, VSF
News links: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Democratic Front outlines demands in negotations on Palestinian elections

The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, DFLP, has outlined three central demands regarding the subject of Palestinian in the ongoing Cairo unity talks. The DFLP representative in the Elections thematic committee, Ramzi Rabah, stated yesterday that DFLP has put forward the following positions:

*Elections must be held in 2010. Postponing the elections to 2011 would deepen division between West Bank and Gaza.
*Elections should be held using Proportional Representation.
*There should be an independent and impartial Central Elections Committee

Source: Maan News Agency. See also: DFLP: No progress at Cairo; Egypt: Talks have not failed, Article in Público on prisoner exchange negotiations

3 Arab parties prohibited in Israel

In the midst of the chauvinist frenzy of the Gaza campaign, the repression against the Arab citizens of Israel has been stepped up a notch. Israeli authorities have banned three Arab political parties, barring them from contesting the up-coming February 10 polls. One Arab Knesset member, Ahmed Tibi, stated that the Zionist parties seeks to have 'a parliament without Arabs'. Tibi's party Ta'al is one of the banned parties.

One of the main accusation against the Arab parties is their criticism of state racism in Israel. Essentially, political parties are barred from criticizing state racist policies in Israel, as it is dubbed as questioning the 'Jewish character' of the Israeli state.

Probably Livni, Barak & Co. hopes that through such moves, they can push the Arab population into not participating in the polls and thus giving them a bigger share of Knesset seats. What else to except from those who have killed hundreds of children for the sake of electoral gains?

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(Note: The Supreme Court overruled the decision to ban the three parties on January 21)