Objective:
To provide a global web-based platform, which enables people to usher in True Democracy (a better and perhaps more acceptable term for Partyless Governance/Partyless Democracy), which is ‘Govt. of the people, by the people and for the people’.

The need for such a platform:
Through out the world, where democracy is in vogue, we find that government’s do not reflect truly the wishes of the people. In spite of elections being held and people casting their votes, the people are soon forgotten after the elections and other interests control the process of governance. Political parties have failed to provide people-centered governance. The candidates posted by political parties are bound to the party line of thinking and frequently lack integrity. An alternative method of electing our representatives, independent of political parties, is needed if the concept of Democracy is to retain its credibility.

How the platform would work:
Step 1:
The people who believe in the need for True Democracy can register on the WTDP giving their name/user name and the particular national/state/local electoral constituency to which they belong. They can express themselves on the forum regarding various issues at the national, state and local levels. Discussions on issues pertaining to these three levels will form the people's point of view that is seldom known in a free and fair manner in today's world. Getting this Step 1 going would by itself will be a great step forward for Democracy. However it needs to be coupled with Step 2 to be really effective in taking on the status quo.
Step 2:
The members registering on the WTDP can also indicate whether they would consider standing for election to represent their electoral constituency on behalf of the WTDP, if selected by a fair process. From a constituency having a population of, say, 100,000 if about 10,000 become members and if about 100 of these are willing to work as the elected representative of that constituency, then they can be subjected to the ‘Triplet system’ of scrutiny from which eventually one would be selected for contesting the election on behalf of the WTDP.

The Triplet System: (Also called the 'Troika' system, this was first conceived by Fred Gohlke, U.S.A.)
If, as in the above example, 100 members indicate their willingness to represent their constituency, then they can be divided randomly into 33 ‘triplets’ or ‘groups of 3 members’ on the WTDP and the results intimated. The same can be done manually on the ground where one of the members can take up the task of conducting the process. The selected triplets can then communicate among themselves and subsequently meet in their constituency to evaluate each other. The small number of 3 facilitates better interaction among themselves

After understanding the pros and cons of the other members of the group, each member of a triplet is required to select one out of the other two (ignoring himself/herself) and cast his vote. An objective, in-depth and selfless evaluation of each candidate as an individual and his commitment to True Democracy is thus possible. The member who gets majority votes (2 in this case) gets selected and moves to the next round. It is possible that within a triplet, all the 3 members may get one vote each or one of the members may decline to vote. In such situations, the members of that triplet go back to the common pool from which they would be divided again into a fresh batch of triplets and the result intimated for further action.

From 33 triplets, as in the example cited above, 11 would be selected to move to the second round. From 11, which can be 12 if we include the extra triplet arising out of various reasons as explained above, 4 would be selected. From 4, being also a small number, one can be selected by the process of evaluation as explained above.

The selection and elimination procedure can be programed to take place a few months before the scheduled elections in that particular constituency. Thus the best possible candidate with True Democratic credentials can contest the election on behalf of the WTDP.

The WTDP candidate:
The candidates contesting on the WTDP would be independents and free from obligation to any political party. In addition, since they would have been evaluated thoroughly before the final selection, they would in all probability be people with integrity. The members of WTDP of that particular constituency can support and help to the extent possible, the candidate posted by the WTDP during the election campaign.

Once the WTDP candidate wins the election, the web platform can continue to facilitate his/her interaction with the people of the constituency. Being an independent candidate, political parties may try to influence him, but his method of selection would have been such that there would be little chance of him going astray. He would continue to work in the best interests of the people and in the true spirit of democracy.

Alternative to Political Parties:
The WTDP would thus provide a mechanism to elect the people’s representatives in an organized way, but without the drawbacks of the political parties. The people who are disenchanted with political parties would find the WTDP as a credible alternative. The constitutions of most democratic countries in the world today do not speak of political parties as being an absolute necessity. Political parties exist only as a working arrangement for ease of election and governance. Thus there is nothing against an alternative working arrangement like the WTDP from coming into being.

The Uniqueness of WTDP:
WTDP as conceived above would not merely be a discussion forum. It would provide a platform for the voters to express themselves on various issues that concern them and is tailored for decisive action by presenting an alternative to political parties in the process of election and governance. It would be fair to assume that the success of WTDP would serve as a model for similar web-platforms in various languages through out the world. This would pave the way for people-centered politics and bring the best out of human nature, which is the only way to solve the complex problems of our times.

Please Note:
The WTDP process of selecting the elected representative as described above considers the commitment of the candidate to True Democracy and his/her integrity and selflessness as core principles. People having affiliation to political parties but in their heart believe in the need for having a True Democracy in letter and spirit can also become members of the platform. It would in no way affect the credibility of the process. Being tolerant of all shades of political opinion and yet having the focus on the integrity of the elected representative would make the platform acceptable to all.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 09/28/2008 05:21AM by PVR.