Vote buying

The legal procedures against those involved in a by now more than 6-year old vote buying scandal have been dragging on for too long and public interest in the case has dropped to an all-time low.

That is a pity because especially these types of cases are designed to prevent others from doing the same thing; hence the demand for suspended prison sentences and community service.

But even the threat of these punishments – that quite some people consider way too lenient – has not worked over the past couple of years.

There is a vote buying investigation into the 2014 elections and during the 2016 elections it was the same song all over again.

What do we learn from this? That when opportunity knocks, people will go for it; consequences be damned.

That is the world we live in. We don’t have to accept it but thinking that it is possible to eradicate this democracy-undermining practice is an illusion. Sad but true.