Democracy? No - a travesty!

The only real indications that an election is taking place are the sheets of paper posted on shop and office windows, with a photograph and short biography of each candidate.

More than 90% of voters are expected to turn out.

The new National Assembly has to meet within 45 days to approve, from among its own numbers, the president, vice-president and executive Council of State for new five-year terms.

Sixty-three per cent of candidates f are new, standing for the first time.

Fifty-six per cent are under 50 years old. Forty-three per cent are women.

Half of the candidates are chosen by municipal authorities, the other half by organisations, such as trade unions and the women's movement.

Critics call it a travesty of democracy that should be replaced by multi-party elections.

The system, set up in 1976, is possibly the most democratic in the world because money cannot buy votes and delegates are chosen at a neighbourhood level.

Voters are given a list of candidates for their region.  If they do not like one candidate or another, they can tick individual boxes next to names and leave others blank. They are also offered a single box that they can check to support  all listed candidates

A candidate must get 50% of the vote to win.

Compare what is written above with the biased piece that the BBC ran today  and from which the bones of the above are extracted. You will then see why US experts dismiss the above system as a travesty of democracy. This supposedly lighthearted piece from the BBC might which also ran today could give you some deeper insight into what is is that is believed to be a part of an authentic and creditable democracy.

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