pkern@utcs.uucp (10/21/85)
Belgium just had a general election. What's interesting about this is that Belgium is the only country or is one of a few in the Common Market where one is required to vote. The penalty for not voting is a hefty fine or imprisonment. One of the benefits of a mandatory vote is that everyone chooses the shape of the government and not just a fraction of *registered* voters (registered voters being a fraction of eligible voters). Another benefit is that there isn't a great amount of energy expended just to get people to vote in the first place. When people are forced to make a choice they might pay more attention to what's happening. It seems that voter turn-out for some of the past elections here have been less than spectacular. It's alarming that some US governments have been chosen by only 50 % of eligible voters (Some have said the whole world should have a vote in US elections). For Canada, it might mean that the House might be more balanced instead of being the result of a violent move *away* from one party (as opposed to being the result of a move in favor of another party).
anthony@utcsstat.uucp (Anthony Ayiomamitis) (10/24/85)
Ditto for Greece. I have a friend who wanted to come to Canada for a medical conference and was refused an exit visa by the Greek government because of the upcoming elections at the time ?! -- {allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!utcsstat!anthony {ihnp4|decvax|utzoo|utcsrgv}!utcs!utzoo!utcsstat!anthony