|
(Date Posted:13/03/2008 10:02:01)
WARSAW (AFP) - Poland should not adopt online voting because the Internet is the preserve of beer-swilling youths with a penchant for pornography, the former prime minister said on Wednesday. "I am not enthusiastic about the idea of a youngster sitting at his computer, watching videos and porn, slugging on a beer bottle and voting whenever he feels like it," Jaroslaw Kaczynski said in an interview published -- ironically -- on the website of his conservative Law and Justice party. Poland has regularly faced low election turnout rates since the advent of democracy when the communist bloc collapsed in 1989. The national ombudsman has suggested Warsaw follow the lead of regional neighbours such as Estonia, which has used online voting to encourage greater participation. But Kaczynski, who was swept out of office in a snap election last October and is now leader of the opposition, suggested that Internet users were too easily swayed by what they read online. They are "the easiest group to manipulate, and to suggest who they should vote for," he said. Young and urban voters -- considered typical Internet users in many countries -- swung solidly behind the Civic Platform which won last year's election, when the Web was a major campaign tool for the liberals. Analysts said a weak Internet presence contributed to Law and Justice's defeat after two years in office. The party has since been looking to spruce up its image, and, despite his comments, Kaczynski has not been entirely Internet-shy. In December, he launched a videoblog, saying it was "a good way to meet people" and that he planned to use it around three times a month to express his views.
(Message edited by ARSHAAD On
13/03/2008 10:02:45)
--------------------------------------------------------------
www.arshaad.net | arshaad16@gmail.com |
|
