The Four Power Commission found party representatives misrepresented popular opinion in 1948.
Evidence
Commission, a great discrepancy was noted between the views expressed by representatives and those obtained in village interviews. The only exception is the area of Itala. That discrepancy appears to be a consequence of the fact that the influence of political parties was much stronger on the representatives than on the mass of the people. The statements of representatives cannot, therefore, be regarded as a rule as a true expression of the wishes of the population and can be accepted only in so far as they are confirmed by village interviews. If this is borne in mind, it appears that the great majority of the population would accept any government that would bring peace and security, that a number of them asked for the return of Italy and that the request for a Four Power Trusteeship for ten years does not correspond to a genuine desire of the tribes. — Abdi Ismail Samatar, Africa’s First Democrats, 261
Categorization
Category: Factual Claims
- QUESTION: How did the SYL’s strong party discipline distort representative statements versus village opinion, and did this discrepancy matter for the eventual outcome?