The disillusionment of voters in the Arab world is usualy a result of poor governance performence and disfranchise of the constituence, and other cumulative effect of election problems; including frauds; and a lost hope for positive change!

When people are caught up on the survival mode, politics is not the priority in thier daily agenda. It is important to understand the underpinning issues that drive society and probalby link its problem to lack of participation in the poltiical process. When people understand that throught the political participation, people can actively participate in chaning policy and advocating for thier own rights as citizens, make thier voice heard and thier needs met. There are biger questions that need to be answered- that is- why poeple think that politics is outside the realm of thier daily life? Thank you,

I think both sides of the discussion here make sense: While the idea that knowing an elected official can achieve concrete results certainly influences citizen participation, there are also obstacles within the voting process that play a role. Bureaucratic or organizational issues such as voter registration, the distribution of voter cards, etc. can prevent citizens who are genuinely interested in the political process and willing to participate from voting. That said, if these issues are resolved and the voting process is streamlined, efficient and not exclusive, enormous problems with citizen participation could still persist due to systemic problems mentioned in other posts. Therefore, I think working to remedy both types of issues is a surefire way to expand citizen participation during the time of elections.

I disagree. The ease of the voting process, while still an obstacle for participation, does not hit the core issue. Already, particularly in the US, people might feel that their vote is inconsequential due simply to the sheer volume of votes that come in. Unless someone feels that their vote will have a vote on government policies that will directly affect their lives, they will not be motivated to vote. If a candidate can prove that they have in the past affected change in their community, whether through a democratically elected office or through community organizations, I feel that citizens would be motivated to go to the polls.

The US has struggled for many years historically with this issue. For decades, the ban on women voting -- until 1917 -- and the issue of poll taxes -- fines levied on voters, plagued this country. The famous voting rights act was only passed in 1964 under the Johnson administration. Hence, easing the actual voting process may help diminish voter disillousionment.

The perceived inefficacy of government structure can definitely be a large factor in voter apathy. It also boils down to elected representatives' inability to deliver goods and services to their constituents. People will not support the concept of democracy unless they can really see that democracy brings results that positively affect their lives. Otherwise, people will lose trust in democratic institutions (like political parties or parliament whose members make dozens of campaign promises, but seldom deliver) and become nostalgic for another era with a different regime.

For my part, I see citizen disillusionment in voting not in terms of disillusionment with the electoral process, but in terms of disillusionment with the existing government structure. If a citizen has no faith that their representative will be able to bring about change under the current system. How can a candidate convince voters that he/she will be able to affect change in their lives?