BENGALURU : With Israel also in election mode, the democratic processes in both India and Israel were being discussed at the Israeli consulate office in Halasuru on Thursday. The participation of youth in the democratic process, representation of women in the Lok Sabha as well as the Knesset (Israeli legislature) and increasing public demand for accountability from its leaders were among the issues discussed. Dana Kursh, Consul General of Israel to South India; Ariel Sidman, Deputy Consul General; Revathy Ashok, CEO of NGO BPAC (Bangalore Political Action Committee) and political commentator Sandeep Shastri took part.
Elections are held once every four years to elect members to the Knesset. Israel has 63,39,279 voters who will cast their votes through 11,000 ballot boxes. Emphasising the importance of a single vote, Kursh began the session by casting her vote through a sealed envelope that would be physically carried along with votes from its embassies across Asia to Thailand, Israel’s hub for the region. Shastri specified that size and context mattered when it comes to making comparisons between the two nations. “Both nations have a deep and abiding faith in democracy,” he said.
Ashok emphasised that voter apathy needs to be tackled. “Rural voters come diligently to vote with rural areas having an 80 per cent to 85 per cent voter turnout. They walk miles and stand in queue for hours to cast their vote,” she pointed out.
Responding to a question on elected women members, the Consul General said that Israel had 33 members in Knesset, constituting 28 per cent of its overall composition. Shastri felt that many parties fielded women in constituencies that they were bound to lose, and their defeat is used as a reason not to field them in subsequent elections.