En tu idioma / In your own language

Eduardo del Buey
Foto:
La Jornada Maya

Martes 11 de octubre, 2016

Over the past few weeks we have seen the power of referendums in determining major decisions in different countries over different issues.

This has led me to question the validity of referendums that can override popularly elected parliaments and render them powerless.

Citizens of the United Kingdom voted last June in what I consider to be a completely unnecessary referendum on leaving the European Union – BREXIT. Only 72 percent of eligible voters voted, and of these, 52 percent voted in favor of leaving the European Union. Thus a decision to leave was taken by a total of 37 percent of eligible British voters.

This came as a surprise to all since polls had had the “remain” side winning. Former Prime Minister David Cameron had called the referendum to quell the advances made by the anti-EU United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP). It backfired, and the United Kingdom is now dealing with a diminishing currency, short term political and economic uncertainty, and the possibility of the dissolution of the United Kingdom as Scotland seeks to continue in the EU despite the referendum’s result.

On October 2nd the people of Colombia voted in a referendum against a peace deal that would put an end to half a century of warfare. There was no need for the referendum constitutionally since the Congress has the power and authority to manage this type of development. While only 37 percent of the population voted, 50.2 percent of these voters voted “no”. So with only 19 percent of all Colombian voters in favor, the peace deal was rejected!

President Juan Manuel Santos had called the referendum to quell resistance to the peace deal from what polls indicated were a minority of Colombians. The referendum backfired, and peace arrangements have been stalled.

Again, Colombia and the international community were thrown into confusion by the results, and Colombians wondered “what’s next”.

In both cases polls had predicted the opposite results, leading many to observe that opinion polls can and do influence the decision to go out and vote and hence, the final outcome.

In democracies with functioning elected parliaments, legislators are elected by voters to take decisions on their behalf and in their best interests. They have the resources and processes to analyze and debate issues of major importance to a country, and choose options taking into account a more holistic vision of the problem. All problems have political, economic, and social elements that must be taken into account and balanced to ensure decisions are taken for the common good.

I believe that individual voters often do not vote in a referendum on the issue at hand. Often, voters seem against the government for a broad array of reasons, for or against the personality of one or more leaders, or on a very specific element of the issue.

In the case of the UK, the pound is falling precipitously. While this may be good for exports, the United Kingdom currently has no trade deals in place to ensure tariff-free markets for its exports, and these will take time to negotiate since the UK has little experience in dealing bilaterally on trade issues.

London faces the prospect of losing its status as Europe’s financial capital once BREXIT takes effect. British youth stand to lose the mobility they hitherto enjoyed throughout Europe, and the UK risks losing much of the cheaper labor it enjoyed as a member of the high labor mobility the EU offers. On the other hand, however, the UK regains control over its borders and over who gets to migrate to the country – an issue of concern to many Brits.

In the case of Colombia, one understands the need for justice alongside peace. Many of the families of victims of the violence were aghast at the prospect of impunity on the part of those who perpetrated murder and hostage taking for half a century.

But just like war comes with a price, so does peace. The decision about the price of peace could have been debated and taken by the elected parliamentarians who could have evaluated the impact of the peace accords on Colombia’s present and future from a political, social, and economic perspective, and taken a decision that would enhance Colombia’s long term prospects.

Referendums do not, in my view, enhance governance in functioning parliamentary systems. Governments must often take long-term decisions that are unpopular in the short term. Were we to subject key legislation to referendums, we could be subject to the whims of an uninformed electorate easily manipulated by charismatic leaders into taking decisions with negative long-term prospects.

As I stated at the beginning, I don’t think referendums are an effective way to govern a democracy. The British and the Columbians now have to sort out the future based on a decision that may or may not have been the best one. It is their parliaments that must now resolve a dilemma created by a flawed process.

Caveat emptor.