The War of Ideas

Perhaps Jimmy Carter should be assisting the Pali's with their voter registration and election rather than pestering Floridians.

Palestinians Greet Voter Drive With Apathy, Skepticism

RAMALLAH, West Bank -- Three Palestinian election workers idle the morning away here at a voter registration center crammed into a narrow guardhouse at the entrance of the Friends School.

A banner spanning the street is meant to lure prospective voters, but the first Palestinian registration drive in more than eight years has drawn only a trickle of people.

Though a date for a vote hasn't been set, Palestinian reformers hope the sign-up will create momentum for municipal and general elections within a year that would resuscitate the Palestinian Authority. The beleaguered authority has held just one presidential election since it was formed 11 years ago.

With Hamas encouraging its followers to register, an election could be the first political showdown between Yasser Arafat's Fatah party and the Islamic opposition. But so far, the registration effort has been met with apathy by Palestinians disillusioned with their government.

"It's not our problem," said Samar, an employee of the Palestinian election commission who declined to give her last name. "We can't bring them from the street and force them."

Contrast that with Afghani's risking all manner of violence, mayhem and day long lines in order to register to vote and it is not difficult to see the results when people have a choice of candidates and the promise of self-governance.