We have many times stressed and made widely known that we, the sum total of the Greek People, are up against a cartel – clique of Totalitarian Oligarchs who have to keep up pretenses of a democratic process and pretend that they respect Democracy, the Popular Mandate, etc, all to keep a front behind which they will manage to monopolise power.
In other words, they resort to all sorts of totalitarian tricks of the trade as long as it is done under the cloak of a shredded parliamentary democracy, because if they do not act like that, they will open the way to a domino effect that will lead to a violent takeover of power. But this is not the point of the present article but of those on the way.
So, within this framework of their wheeling-dealing to succeed at gagging and straggling Popular Power and Sovereignty as well as Popular Mandate, but without openly banning elections or potentially dangerous for the present political state parties, candidate rolls and probable coalitions, they have come up with an abominable electoral law whose details are not widely known.
This condoned-by-all ignorance of the electoral law (as it is referred to and is amended by Presidential Decree (P.D.) 26/2012), which, because it is applied, it acquires the status of active and valid law (since they have made it extremely hard to attack it as anti-constitutional, at least at first sight, given the onus of the required procedures and preconditions – but we shall return to this point following a closer examination), is welcome by the system, since all the elections until its repeal or amendment are also considered valid, as well as all legislation voted by the government that will wield power as a result, and which will be enforced and have a tremendous impact upon our daily lives and our future, and be considered equally valid (despite the fact that they are not).
Careful here: under no circumstances do we claim that the present electoral law is Constitutional or Just, let alone Democratic. On the contrary, it is a despicable, anti-constitutional legal abomination whose main purpose is to retain all the old political guard forever, if possible, and minimize any possibility of true expression of the Greek People.
We declare in this article that we shall spare no effort to annul and repeal the present and similar electoral laws, and we call upon all our fellow Citizens to follow suit.
But the fact remains that under the present electoral law, there is going to be a new government and parliament.
It is also a fact that as long as the People can still cast their vote in the ballot, there is still a chance that we the Greek People can hinder them by means of our electoral behavior, and by making use of the present electoral law that they have put in effect to hinder us and protect their own posts of power and all the perks that go with them, including their immunity from just punishment for their crimes as demanded by the totality of the Greek People.
The tool that we have in our hands is precisely our participation in the electoral process, and this is precisely what the propaganda centre of the political system is trying to disperse, who promote, either by means of their own networks and connections or through expedient idiots, or via incensed people who do not have the patience to study the law carefully by themselves and trust third parties to do that for them and convince them and the rest of the political body to abstain.
But why is the political system so bent on achieving this abstention?
Because there is a factor, named ʽelectoral measureʼ, on the basis of which the number of seats in the parliament and their weight against the percentages of the elections will be calculated, and it is this factor that affords extra electoral boost to all parties during the elections, as we will show below (P.D. 26/2012, art. 98, par. 8, art. 100).
As you will see from our examples, the greater the abstention, the more favorable the electoral measure will be for the parties that the People think they target to oust by abstaining, and the lower the number of votes they will need to secure a seat in parliament. In fact, ideally and for every Tsipras and every Meimarakis and all the other party herders wishing to enter Parliament, it would work best if the totality of the electoral body abstained, save their own party-led but shrinking armies of voters, because under that scenario, they would achieve, as we shall show below with simple arithmetic, astronomic percentages, majority governments and whatever other political fantasy of their supremacy they have.
The best gift dreamt by every Tsipras, Meimarakis, Gennimata, etc., is not simply 51% abstention, but 61%, 71% or even 91% if possible.
How does that work?
According to the electoral law brought forth by Pavlopoulos (under the amendment of P.D. 26/2012) and which we strongly advise you to read through meticulously on your own, for all calculations pertaining to the electoral result of the total 100% of the electoral body, only the VALID BALLOTS are counted. Therefore, the percentages of the invalid, the white ballots and those who abstained are referred to only for statistical purposes and bear not arithmetic, statistical or legal impact on the electoral result. It is as if they never existed as the basis for the calculation of the electoral law (on the basis of which the parliamentary seats will be distributed but in general, the percentages ranking the parties will be set) is the arithmetic total of valid ballots and only as a unit (that is, as if represented the 100% of the voters, regardless of the level of abstention, white and invalid ballots).
Let us now see what the actual numbers say, using as an example the electoral results of January 15, 2015:
According to the electoral law (Presidential Decree 26/2012, art. 99, par. 2), ʽto determine the number of seats pertaining to every party, the total number of all ballots cast by all state territories is multiplied times the number 250. The result is divided by the total of valid ballots countrywide summed for each party participating in the seat distributionʼ.
We understand that the clause ʽthe total of valid ballots countrywide summed for each party participating in the seat distribution that determines the denominator of the fraction whose quotient in turn determines the number of seats going to each party, means that it only considers ONLY every valid ballot as belonging to the electoral body. Not a single invalid or white vote counts, nor does a Citizen who chose to abstain and who is immediately gagged, rendered invisible, nonexistent and whose electoral power is absorbed by the other Citizens who actually showed up and cast a valid vote.
Let us then see what the numbers say, using indicatively the above formula for the SYRIZA, New Democracy (N.D.), Golden Dawn (X.A.), on the basis of the official data published by the Ministry of Interior:
[Total number of valid ballots for each party countrywide times 250]:
[Total number of valid votes summed for all parties participating in the elections]=
1. The case of SYRIZA:
[2.245.978 Χ 250 = 561.494.500]: 6.181.274 = 90,8 seats (the final recorded number of seats is equal to 149, due to later calculations which redistribute decimal points and other numbers so as to distribute the rest of available seats as well as due to the bonus of 50 extra seats for the first party).
If the totality of the officially eligible to vote in the electoral rolls casted only valid ballots and no invalid or white ballots, we would have:
[1.718.694 Χ 250 = 429.673.500] : 9.911.495 = 56,65 seats (a difference of 34 seats, 14 seats that were given by the invalid and white ballots as well as the abstention which was 35%).
2. The case of N.D.:
1. The case of SYRIZA:
[1.718.694 Χ 250 = 429.673.500] : 6.181.274 = 69,5 seats (the final recorded number of seats is equal to 76, due to later calculations which redistribute decimal points and other numbers so as to distribute the rest of available seats as well as due to the bonus of 50 extra seats for the first party).
If the totality of the officially eligible to vote in the electoral rolls casted only valid ballots and no invalid or white ballots, we would have:
[1.718.694 Χ 250 = 429.673.500]: 9.911.495 = 43,35 seats (a difference of 26 seats, 14 seats that were given by the invalid and white ballots as well as the abstention which was 35%).
3. The Case of X.A.
[388.387 Χ 250 = 97.096.750] : 6.181.274 = 15,7 seats (the final recorded number of seats is equal to 17, due to later calculations which redistribute decimal points and other numbers so as to distribute the rest of available seats as well as due to the bonus of 50 extra seats for the first party).
If the totality of the officially eligible to vote in the electoral rolls casted only valid ballots and no invalid or white ballots, we would have:
[1.718.694 Χ 250 = 97.096.750] : 9.911.495 = 9,79 seats (a difference of 5.9 seats, that were given by the invalid and white ballots as well as the abstention which was 35%).
Using the same formula, it is interesting to calculate (and show precisely what level of power the hierarchs of propaganda and corruption working for the systemic parties that monopolise the Parliament and Political Power, and therefore of the nepotistic clique of the cronies that support them, literally stole from the Citizens demonstrating their utter rejection for everybody) what the percentages of those who abstained, cast an invalid or white ballot would have gained in the Parliament if their opinion was considered valid and indicating rejection of all other choices:
[Abstention + White ballots + Invalid ballots]: [total number of voters in electoral rolls] = number of seats
[(3.580.709 + 34.809 + 114.703 = 3.730.221) Χ 250 = 932.555.250]: 9.911.495 = 94,08 seats (without calculating other redistributions and the 50 seat bonus, since it would have been the first party, achieving a majority government with more than 151 seats).
From the above examples, the undeniable conclusion is reached that the only ones who benefit, and indeed vitally so, from the abstention and secondarily from the white and invalid ballots are THE PARLIAMENTARY-SYSTEMIC PARTIES, IN SORT, PRECISELY THOSE POLITICAL ABERRATIONS AND CARCINOMAS WE REJECT, DO NOT VOTE FOR AND WISH TO OUST.
It is now also proven, why there is such a feverish and rabid effort to inculcate in the electoral body such fanatical view in favour of the 51% abstention, by those who fraudulently, feloniously and underhandedly claim that such a percentage will annul the elections.
This is because on the basis of the secret polls they have in their hands and the true tendencies of our People who intend to cast a valid ballot, they know only too well that they are not going to achieve the necessary percentages that will bring them to government even under a coalition.
THEIR ONLY HOPE TO ACHIEVE THE NECESSARY PERCENTAGES THAT WILL GIVE THEM THE NECESSARY SEATS, CAN ONLY BE REALISED BY AN UNPRECEDENTED HIGH ABSTENTION LEVEL, IDEALLY UP TO 90%. In that case, they would be given free hand to manage the result of the elections along with their cronies (whatever this might imply for vote rigging) and thus claim that they won the elections on a pro-Memorandum platform, despite the victorious 62% of ʽNOʼ of the Referendum of July 5, 2015, basically aiming to govern on the support of the 39% who voted ʽYESʼ, at least at the communicative level.
Any abstention therefore, as it is promoted by some, is actually toxic for the Greek People and Greece and if followed after reading the above, may be even considered an act of treason.
Abstention afterwards supported by simple legal proceedings with single or class action is not only doomed to fail but it might also legally buttress the present elections and lead to persecutions of those actively participating in this deception, as clearly stipulated by the electoral law in case of dissemination of false information and propaganda aiming to prevent potential voters from voting (P.D. 26/2012, art. 112, and mainly par. 2).
In addition to the above, and even if this particular provision of the electoral law is not activated, Citizens who will abstain from the electoral process will bling on to themselves a worse and more catastrophic consequence for they will de facto alienate themselves from their right to lodge a formal complaint and activate the due process for any violation of their Human Right pertaining to the electoral process at any level or issue because formally in the eyes of both national and international law, they will not be forced to abstain from their Political Rights but choose to do so on their own unhindered free will. Therefore no Human Right will have been violated as regards them and in connection with any other Democratic, Constitutional and Human Right to elect and be elected.
But this nonetheless raises the question: when and under which circumstances can abstention prove beneficial to us in these elections?
It is of course possible that abstention may bring forth a power changeover but this can only occur in one case whereby:
All Citizens, instead of voting, they decide to take up arms and gain power through a Revolution, thus cancelling rigged and fixed elections to take place and toppling the present political regime.
In the place of elections a new Referendum is proclaimed that will legitimize the Revolution by the Greek People on an international level, and after that, we will all join hands to build the new Direct Democratic Greece whereby legal abominations like the present electoral law will be seen as crimes against the Regime, the Country and Human Rights.
It is only in this way that abstention can work in favour of the Greek People and can be done by persons who are ready to shed their blood to take up arms and change things.
Any other version of abstention (and as long as there is no provision in the electoral law commensurate to that pertaining to Referenda that stipulates that such Referendum will be considered valid if and only if greater than 50% of the electoral body participates), will prove beneficial and a life-giving force to the political rotten tissues of the old guard that is supported by the Memoranda.
So, what must we do, as voters, since it is clear that whatever we do except a Revolution will benefit the other side?
Personally, we would prefer and support the Revolution but till then there are solutions of electoral behavior that will utterly fumble their plans and make sure that under no circumstances will this Parliament sustain a Memorandum-led government.
We will discuss the pros and cons of every solution in the 2nd part of Elections File that we will have prepared for you – Godʼs willing by Wednesday 9 September 2015.
Translation courtesy of Michael T.