With every election result, you hear statements such as: "Look! The people have clearly chosen," or worse, "The people have given a clear message that they want..." And finally perhaps the worst: "The people have chosen a coalition" or "to send party X and Y home!" However, the reality is that none of these points are true. At no point do the people give a clear message or choose a specific coalition. No! The people vote according to their beliefs and conscience. That is all. No more, no less! How the results turn out, no one knows in advance, let alone can already make agreements about what happens next. It's not like a group of people get together and decide, "We're going to do this or that." So we should stop talking nonsense and simply tell it like it is: "The people went to vote. And these are the results of those who actually voted, even if for different reasons."
Only on the day when there is an additional option on the ballot paper, such as "COALITION" or "COALITION between party X and Y," for example, and people can vote for it, can you say that the people chose something concrete. Only then, because only then was there a clear choice for the people. Then, if that option wins, you can say that the people chose "for a coalition" or "for some other specific situation." Right now, the people are voting for a "candidate" on a political list.
It is true that a group within a party can say, "We are sympathizers of party X and we vote for that party." But even then, there is no guarantee that everyone actually votes for that party. For example, the only check might be that an observer (a person from a party who sits at the polling station and keeps track of who comes to vote) can later confirm that a specific person came to vote and indicated that they voted for a particular candidate. But if the result shows that that candidate received no votes, there is still no certainty as to how that person actually voted.
Voting is done in complete secrecy, and only you and the voting booth know who you voted for. Even if you come out publicly, that is no guarantee. Many people say they voted for a particular candidate, but turn out to have voted for someone else in the end.
Countless nonsense statements are made during every election, and even politicians, who should know better, participate in them. This election was no different. "The people gave a clear message!" cried one politician after a result unfavorable to him. Fewer people voted for his party; this was not a "coordinated" action. True, his party received less support, which can be interpreted as a rejection, but not an organized punitive action. A party that scored well can say the same thing: a majority voted for them, but that was also not a coordinated action.
This message is therefore simple: stop saying that "the people chose a particular composition," because that is simply not true. In the last election, the people gave AVP 6, MEP 6, FUTURO 2 and PPA 1 seat. The remaining seats were distributed by the system and did not go to these parties. So even a coalition of AVP/FUTURO is not something "the people elected," and the same goes for MEP/FUTURO. Let's stay serious!
