Rumiko Seya, Secretary General of the Japan Center for Conflict Prevention

Choosing leaders supported by the people through a fair election is a large challenge

I imagine many of you followed the news of Israel attacking the Palestinian autonomous territory called the Gaza Strip and the fighting that took place there from the end of last year to early this year. On January 18, Israel announced its intention to end the assault, but more than 1000 people, including many children, had already been killed in the fighting.

Rumiko Seya

Born in Gunma Prefecture in 1977. Graduated from Chuo University and received an MA in Conflict Resolution from the University of Bradford in the UK. Specialist in post-conflict peacebuilding and reintegration of ex-combatants into society. In the past she held various positions in conflict areas, such as NGO staff (Rwanda), UN volunteer (Sierra Leone), Special Assistant to the Ambassador (Japanese Embassy, Afghanistan), and UN Peacekeeping Operations staff (Côte d'Ivoire). She became Secretary General of the JCCP in April 2007.

JCCP's website http://www.jccp.gr.jp/

In the Middle East, the conflict between Israel and Palestine has lingered since war first broke out in 1948. Since then, a number of peace talks have taken place, but the bitterness between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian extremist group, eventually resurfaces and plunges the region back into conflict.

It is felt that the victory of Hamas in the Palestinian election in January 2006, despite its use of terrorism to confront Israel, has created a larger divide between Israel and Palestine. In Israel, there will be a general election in February 2009. In this column I would like to take a look at elections, which play a crucial role in a country seeking to recover from conflict.

In previous columns, I mentioned that after the signing of a peace accord, marking the end of a conflict, measures must be put in place to protect refugees and others who have been displaced, improve security, collect arms, rehabilitate former combatants, and encourage reconciliation. And the international community, including the United Nations, foreign governments, and NGOs, are directly involved in providing support for these measures. Through this process, the fulfillment of fair elections is often considered a yardstick for measuring a nation's recovery. Why do you think that might be?

At the polls on election day, a voter is told how to cast his ballot. (Photo by Rumiko Seya in Rwanda, March 2003)

The main reason is that in countries experiencing conflict, the citizens are unhappy with their leaders. These leaders have often come into power without an election, or some people aren't permitted to vote, or the election they won was carried out improperly.

As a result, even if most people don't want to fight, they feel that their voices aren't heard and so it happens that a decision by the leadership stokes conflict. Thus, the first step for turning a conflict-prone nation into a country which respects its people's needs is the act of fairly choosing leaders who will listen to the views of citizens.

In Japan, all Japanese citizens at least 20 years old can participate in elections. However, since conducting fair elections requires a suitable electoral system, countries that have just shaken off conflict are faced with many challenges in organizing such elections. And some countries, because of conflict, haven't conducted elections for several decades.

There are a number of other thorny questions, too. If a lot of residents have fled their homes and haven't yet returned, will an election truly reflect the will of the people? In countries where access to television and radio is not widespread, how can voters be informed about elections and candidates? If conflict had persisted for many years, impacting education, how will voters, who can't read or write, complete their ballots? In places where people feel afraid to turn out to the polls because of potential violence, what measures should be taken to provide security? And how can injustices be prevented in the results of the election process?

With these conditions in mind, please ponder today's question by asking adults about the situation in Japan or by using your own imagination.