Can PNG learn from the US presidential election?

In Port Moresby one can easily spot a bumper sticker with the name of the U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama. The celebrity politician, as his Republican opponent John McCain called him, probably already has a huge following in PNG. Ask any ordinary taxi driver and he knows something about Barack Obama. Why is it that a lot of people, as evident on bumper stickers, are closely following the presidential election in the United States unlike in the past?

The United States presidential election of 2008 is scheduled for Tuesday November 4, 2008 and will be the 56th consecutive quadrennial United States presidential election. On that day people around the world would be sitting in front of their television sets to see the results of the election.

The Republican Party has chosen John McCain, the senior United States Senator from the state of Arizona as its nominee and the Democratic Party has chosen Barack Obama, the junior United States Senator from Illinois.

The 2008 election is particularly notable because it is the first time in U.S. history that two sitting senators will run against each other for president, and because it is the first time an African American is a presidential nominee for a major party, as well as the first time both major candidates were born outside the continental United States—Hawaii for Obama and the Panama Canal Zone for McCain.

With African American candidate Barack Obama, who is of mixed African and Caucasian parentage, as the Democratic Party nominee for President and John McCain's selection of female Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as the Republican Party nominee for Vice-President, the eventual winning ticket is very likely to have a historic context, as either the first African American will be elected President along with the first Roman Catholic as Vice President or the oldest President will be elected with the first woman Vice President. It might also be historic that if Barack Obama is elected he would be the first black president in a Western superpower nation.

Whilst the U.S. presidential election does not have any relevance whatsoever to PNG and will not affect PNG in anyway, it does have useful lessons that PNG can learn from and emulate to improve its system of governance, conduct of elections and the electability of political aspirants.

The U.S. system of government and electoral process has evolved over two centuries compared to PNG with only 33 years of political independence. A presidential system of government is different from a Westminster system such as PNG as the president is directly elected by the people whereas in our parliamentary system the political party that wins the highest number of seats is invited by the Governor General to form the government and typically the party leader becomes the Prime Minister. This in a way, as argued by some political scientists, makes the Prime Minister less accountable to the people compared to a presidential system.

The issue that I am particularly keen on is that of the debate surrounding the character, judgment and experience of the two U.S. presidential candidates and which is more capable of leading the United States as the next president. This is a decision to be made by the American people. Nonetheless, there is merit that character, judgment and experience are important qualities of leadership that we can extrapolate when looking at PNG as these are rarely or even hardly a measure of capable leadership in our politics.

One of the interesting characteristics of the U.S. presidential election is that a presidential candidate is thoroughly scrutinized usually by the media from their early childhood to their current occupation. One reason behind this process is that the life experiences of a candidate shapes their character and can impact on how the person makes important decisions when they assume public office.

It will be interesting to see the media in PNG play a similar role and be more vigorous and participative in the electoral process as the examination of candidates will allow voters to be better informed of the candidates’ leadership capability. When voters are better informed of a candidate’s history which includes their character and experience, this can guide them in making appropriate choices and deviate from the conventional tribal, ethnic and personal lineage that all too often shape voter choices in our society.

An extraordinary example that defied the electoral norms of our society was the election of the NCD Governor Powes Parkop. If an opinion poll or survey was conducted it would validate that Governor Parkop was elected solely on merit and not by affiliation to a particular ethnic group. It would require an electorate in PNG to be as diverse and perhaps “well informed” as NCD to replicate the same result in future elections.

More so, a thorough coverage of candidates and their policies by the media promotes transparency as one of the fundamental cornerstones of a democratic society. It also holds leaders accountable to their voters when their promises and policies are widely publicized.

The three U.S. presidential debates focused on numerous issues such as abortion, health care, Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan, medicare and social security, globalization and free trade, taxes, gun control, immigration, energy, same-sex marriage, Iran and China. These are very diverse national and international issues that the next president of the United States will have to deal with when inaugurated on January 20, 2009.

Debates have proven to be a useful arena where the leadership capability of political leaders is tested. As possible candidates for Prime Minister, the party leaders of PNG’s political parties should be invited to such a forum organized by institutions like the universities where they can sell their policies to voters. It should be mandatory to have prime ministerial debates akin to presidential debates for voters like “Joe the Buai Seller” to have the opportunity to interrogate political candidates on how policies on the informal sector or eviction of squatter settlers will affect them.

Debates will show voters the intellect, knowledge and experience of political candidates on issues affecting the people. The candidates should at least have some understanding of critical issues that affect not only their immediate constituency but PNG as a whole.

There is a huge contrast between PNG and the United States on issues of national and international significance but in the 21st century global issues are increasingly becoming important and affect all countries irrespective of their First World-Third World status. In this globalization age climate change and climate refugees, carbon trading, poverty, international trade, illegal migrants, regional conflicts, international terrorism, transnational crime, international financial crisis and China’s preponderance in the region are some of the issues that require multilateral solutions and compel an international obligation and cooperation on the part of PNG. Our leaders will also have to be well versed with these issues to effectively deal with them and represent the country in international forums.

The media in PNG will need to play a more vigorous role in shaping our electoral process and strengthen the fundamentals of our democracy. Political processes such as elections will need to mature to allow PNG to embrace good and effective governance, and this will require a transformation of how we conduct elections and decide who we vote into parliament.