IN the United Kingdom-based Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index for 2016, Timor Leste ranked 43rd most democratic country worldwide, based on five variables: electoral process and pluralism, the functioning of the government, political participation, political culture and civil liberties. In three out of these five categories, the Philippines outstripped Timor Leste. The two categories in which we didn’t quite do as well were the functioning of government and political culture. The final tally, however, placed Timor Leste fifth in Asia and first in Southeast Asia, ahead of the Philippines at 50.
How did that happen? Clearly, our low rankings in those two categories had something to do with it; I had the opportunity to get a very good idea exactly what.
This past week, I was fortunate enough to be with the people and organizations involved in the preparations for this landmark debate in Timor Leste. Upon the invitation of Debates International and the National Democratic Institution, I’ve been helping out, sharing insights and best practices and so on. And one of the most noteworthy things about this debate is how remarkably purposive it is.
The National Elections Commission (CNE) has given the guidance that this debate is intended primarily to educate the voters on the role of the president they will be electing, Monday next week. Apparently, the CNE wants to ensure that voters appreciate the role of a president in a parliamentary form of government, as opposed to the role that same position plays in a presidential form of government.
In other words, the debate will be educating the electorate on a fairly complex concept in a manner that also gives the candidates one last chance to distinguish themselves in the voters’ minds. That’s synergy of a high order.
In contrast, our debates last year focused more closely on the platforms of the candidates, merely allowing the voters to compare them against each other and, to be perfectly frank, to provide an opening for the candidates to address personality-based issues that had been raised against most of them. While that same dynamic will certainly be at play here, the CNE’s guidance ensures that the voter education function of the debate won’t be merely incidental.
This deliberate structuring of the debate for the purpose of facilitating voter education on a complex concept—i.e., the role of the president in a parliamentary vis-à-vis a presidential form of government—reflects the Timorese determination to make their democracy work.
Going back to the Democracy Index again, we find that one of the key variables is “political culture”, or the existence of an atmosphere conducive to the thriving of democratic principles. And one of the most important things that can be done toward that end is to foster the emergence and maintenance of an informed electorate. Tonight’s debate will do exactly that.
Instead of simply setting out to present the voters with a field of candidates to choose from, the Timorese debate will be, first and foremost, defining the job for which the
candidates are aspiring. By helping the voters understand what the job entails, the debates will also effectively guide the voters in determining who the best choice will be.
With this kind of emphasis on voter education motivating the debate, is it any wonder that Timor Leste scored a 6.88 in the Democracy Index’s political culture category, as opposed to the Philippines’s 4.38? And since political culture has a significant impact on how elections go, which, in turn, has a direct correlation with how well government functions, it should not be a surprise either that in that category, Timor Leste notched a 7.14 as against our 5.71.
The lesson should be clear enough. Electoral process and pluralism, political participation, civil liberties—categories in which the Philippines scored very high—are simply not enough to carry the day. In the end, political culture and its effect on how well the elected government functions matter a great deal.
I came to Dili to share insights on how to stage presidential debates. I’m happy to report that Dili seems to have ended up teaching me much more about the value of these debates.
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James Arthur B. Jimenez is director of the Commission on Elections’s Education and Information Department.