Random Politics 2

[md0]

There's a couple of elections coming up, but there's two in which I'm eligible to vote and I think it's the first time in my life I'm agonizing so much about my choices.

Both the Presidential Elections in Cyprus, and the Local Council elections in the district of Berlin I live in take place on the 5th.

Cyprus has a ridiculous... everything, but especially a system of government where the President has all the powers (head of state and government) plus no effective checks and balances since constitutional order collapsed in 1964. And the voting system is a direct election with a run-off between the leading two candidates if none wins over 50% of the vote.

I was planning to vote for the guy who is polling 4th or 5th, so no chance for him to even make it in the run-off but the idea was to signal boost him and maybe allow him to start a party that will compete in the parliamentary elections down the line.
Now it transpires that the 2nd and 3rd are tied in the polls. One of them is less bad than the other one, and while the 1st place and ultimate winner appears to be inevitable (and bad), there's that pressure to at least make sure the runner up is at least a bit better. Not sure why, but there is that pressure.

This sucks. Not only this should be a parliamentary system because no president should have so many powers, but it should be a ranked choice system too. I want to be able to influence who goes to the run-off while still voting for the candidate I chose based on their platform, and not be forced to vote tactically.

This has been causing me so much stress that I think I may travel a whole hour to the embassy and just spoil my ballot with a message in favour of ranked choice voting. It would be the first time I don't cast a valid vote in an election.

As for the Berlin election - I can't actually vote for the main election, that of the State Senate. I can vote the local council of my district, and of the 14 or so parties on my postal ballot only three are actually non-conservative, so it's a choice between the three of them. Given that the main job is to approve building permits, I'm trying to figure out who, regardless of what the manifestos say, is not actually infiltrated by NIMBYs.

[h34]

Dalai Lama’s envoy to Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and Mongolia Telo Tulku Rinpoche (Erdne Ombadykow) has stepped down as Supreme Lama of Russia’s Kalmykia after being labeled as a “foreign agent”, the Central Khurul (monastery) of Kalmykia said in a statement.

“I have learnt that on 27 January 2023 the Russian Justice Ministry added my name to the list of foreign agents. In this situation, I believe it’s expedient to hand over all my passport of the Supreme Lama of Kalmykia,” Ombadykow noted.

He encouraged the Kalmyk people and all Russia’s Buddhists to stay strong, persevering, and committed to values of compassion, love, and non-violence which Buddha’s teachings promote.

[…] Dalai Lama’s envoy to Russia was recognised as a “foreign agent” on 27 January. The Justice Ministry explained its decision by noting that Ombadykow “spoke against the Special Military Operation, openly supported Ukraine, is a US citizen, and lives outside of Russia”.

In October, Telo Tulku Rinpoche described the war as a “terrible suffering” and expressed sympathy for the Ukrainian people. “The Ukrainian side is of course right. They defend their country, their lands, their truth, their Constitution, and their people. It is very difficult to say and accept that Russia is correct. It is very hard to say, I cannot do that,” he told a YouTube channel.

Source: https://novayagazeta.eu/articles/2023/01/29/dalai-lamas-envoy-recognised-by-russia-as-foreign-agent-resigns-as-supreme-lama-of-russias-kalmykia-en-news

https://youtu.be/CVSwea3hQOA
(English subtitles available)

[h34]

https://youtu.be/szYnAcKDYXs?si=FduRUkaWogkPCYO8

[h34]

https://youtu.be/3-ayvbVhTsk?si=WxPXLfZXdLUADPi8
https://youtu.be/8Wlm-Atynso?si=i7EZY8BhSrYqT2j-