Democratic electoral systems suffer from decreasing electoral participation. However, the lack of participation at the polls of four out of five people does not affect those in power.
In countries like Chile, after a 70% abstention, Alejandro Olivares stated, in October 2016 for Diario Chile: "the government or local governments have to continue administering, they have to continue developing, therefore, even if only two people participate, those governments will exercise power anyway. So, the ones who end up winning with this are not the abstention or the discontent, but rather the people who are in power."
In Tunisia, abstention has increased to 90%, and, of course, that changed nothing. The abstentionists were subjected to Kais Saied, which the abstentionist movement repudiated. There is no more submissive stance. To this day, that regime remains, which Saied has adapted to his will.
Abstention, in a democracy, is suicide when it comes to electoral processes. It is becoming invisible, being left without an effective voice, and letting others decide for you. It forces you to accept the outcome that others decide. And, even if abstention is an overwhelming majority, it is the most voted parties that will administer your tax money as they wish, who will legislate, and will control the security forces and the army. By then, your invisibility will have disappeared, and you will be scourged by new laws and regulations that were not there when some exercised their right to vote.
Doing so in an electoral consultation has nothing to do with abstaining in an assembly consultation, or in a consultative referendum, where one can show conformity with any outcome. When it is an electoral consultation in a parliamentary system, you are gambling with the next government and what that entails.
Calls for abstention without reasoning or demonstrated political purpose can be very damaging and turn against the voters themselves. It does not matter the same what is voted, nor what is not voted either, especially when it comes to highly polarized societies and elections decide the social model in which you and your descendants will live for the next few years.
On the other hand, observe a detail: abstention is almost always called for from sectors of the left. And, if it is ever called for from the other extreme, are you sure they are not doing it by posing as the left?
The truth is that the right is too disciplined not to go vote, while on the left we are cannibals who devour each other over the slightest disagreement. Sometimes you have to overcome that and have class consciousness above all else.
But, as things are, the anti-fascist voter does not preach abstention, because they are aware of the fascist emergency and what that means.
It is not insignificant what is decided in the next Spanish elections, nobody ignores it, and every vote counts.
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