Lessons to be learnt from US

PAPUA New Guineans go to the polls in June next year to elect Members of Parliament who will represent them for the next five years.
These new and re-elected MPs will then elect a new Prime Minister during the first sitting of Parliament after the elections.
Under the Westminster (British) system of parliamentary democracy that Papua New Guinea adopted from Australia at independence, our voters do not elect the Prime Minister.
But many of our citizens wish they could have a direct say in who should be the country’s next chief executive after witnessing the US elections this week.
While the British and American systems differ in many ways, the fundamental principles of democracy are still the same.
Donald Trump’s election as the 46th president of the United States sent shockwaves around the world this week but it hardly caused a ripple in PNG where the majority of our people in the rural and remote areas continue to live like their ancestors. They only have access to basic government healthcare and education services while modern communication services are almost non-existent in these places.
Despite advances in mobile phone and internet technology, most of our rural people will continue to be detached from the outside world.
Nonetheless, they do have the trump card or people’s power when it comes to election time but their lack of education and other disadvantages make them extremely prone to the wolves that are likely to prey on them.
Elections in democratic countries like PNG are supposed to be “free and fair” and without intimation and harassment of voters by candidates.
That may be the case in western countries like the United States and Australia but not in this country. Our past elections have had more than their fair share of corrupt and illegal activities as well as violence.
Electoral Commissioner Patilias Gamato has stressed the need for fair play among intending candidates but he will need an aggressive awareness campaign over the next few months to drive the message home.
Undoubtedly, money – and lots of it – will again dictate the trend of voting and the final results of these elections. And political parties and candidates will be cashed up for the sole purpose of buying votes.
However, heaps of cash does not necessarily translate to success at the polls as many of these candidates will find out to their great disappointment.
They should not be so arrogant to think that our voters are gullible and can be bought off that easily although there are many voters who like to play games with different candidates.
Such voters will willingly accept cash and goodies from one candidate but vote for another. It has happened in previous elections and will happen again.
Indeed, there are a few good lessons to be learnt from the US elections, especially for our current political leaders and intending candidates for the 2017 elections.
Since Trump’s triumph and Hillary Clinton’s demise, there have been numerous post-mortem analyses and commentaries on the most divisive and bitter election contest in American history.
As one commentator wrote: “The one thing we knew before anyone cast a vote was that Americans were going to get a president they didn’t like. Both candidates were viewed unfavourably; we just didn’t realise they would opt for the one they liked least.”
A voter confirmed this view when asked by a news reporter about who he had chosen to be the next US president. His response: “I voted for the lesser of the two evils.” He did not say whether it was Trump or Clinton.
The O’Neill Government, which is placing top priority on Apec 2018, may be concerned about the Trump rhetoric on international trade alliances and treaties.
Trump spent the campaign threatening to upend what has been called the liberal international order, the network of treaties and multilateral institutions that govern global relations.
He has said he would tear up and renegotiate trade treaties, and has even called into question US commitment to the Nato alliance.
The long-negotiated multilateral trade deals – the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with Europe will be the first to be halted. Opposition to those accords was a cornerstone of the Trump campaign.
Hopefully, Trump’s plans to axe treaties and alliances do not include Apec 2018 as PNG will be most eager to host the new president.