[EM] Conceiving a Democratic Electoral Process

[Fred Gohlke]

Good Morning, Michael

re: "Could you elaborate here?  I want to look at problems of
      feasibility.  By what sequence of events (again 1, 2, 3)
      might the community transit from the status quo to that
      better future, as you envision it?"

I'm not sure what kind of elaboration you seek.  All communities are 
different in the sense that the spark that initiates changes in one can 
be completely different from the spark that starts a flame in another. 
Perhaps it would help to mention a specific instance:

A small community outside the United States with terrible living 
conditions, a community that was victimized with kidnapping and mass 
killings during a recent civil war, wants to find a new way to select 
their local officials.

I've been asked, on behalf of the pastor of the community church, to 
discuss Practical Democracy ...

http://participedia.net/methods/practical-democracy

... because it offers a rational way to identify the people best suited 
to work out local problems.  The pastor is a person who wants the best 
for his people but has no personal political ambition.  He is concerned 
that the community (indeed, the entire area) has a very long history of 
male dominance.  Although women have political rights formally, it is 
difficult for them to influence community action because there are 
enough reactionaries to thwart their best efforts.

Practical Democracy, if adopted, lets women form a feminist party that 
functions in parallel with any other groups in the village.  This 
ensures that the most resourceful women are not excluded by 
thoughtlessness at the initial level(s) of the electoral process and are 
integrated with the decision makers at the upper levels.  This is one of 
the reasons the pastor may encourage the community to adopt the 
Practical Democracy concept.  If they do so and it succeeds, other 
communities in the area with similar problems are likely to adopt it, as 
well.

Is that any help?

Fred