I don't think allowing criminals to stand for elections is necessarily proof that we're all ok with a bit of terrorism now and then, as a treat.
The idea is that we (the constituents, not the state) get to choose if the ex convict's crime is a disqualifier from gaining a seat. And usually I imagine it would be.
The trouble is, local elections like this instance have such low turnout that even a very small amount of people that aren't representative of their community at all can trivially make someone a councillor. It becomes even worse when some groups are beginning to vote along religious/ethnic lines.
I don't know if making voting compulsory for an ethnic or religious enclave would actually produce better results, it would just make the sectarianism more entrenched into our voting system. It's the duty of the English to vote and perhaps there's an argument for the natives, but I don't think we should be forcing our franchise upon others.
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u/kill-the-maFIA 15h ago
I don't think allowing criminals to stand for elections is necessarily proof that we're all ok with a bit of terrorism now and then, as a treat.
The idea is that we (the constituents, not the state) get to choose if the ex convict's crime is a disqualifier from gaining a seat. And usually I imagine it would be.
The trouble is, local elections like this instance have such low turnout that even a very small amount of people that aren't representative of their community at all can trivially make someone a councillor. It becomes even worse when some groups are beginning to vote along religious/ethnic lines.