The elementary school elections in Please Vote For Me are an example of the type of winner-take-all democracy described by Juan Linz in “The Perils of Presidentialism.” Linz describes how presidential democracy results in a “zero-sum game, with all the potential for conflict such games portend” (123). Because the three children have nothing to gain from the success of their competitors (ie. no coalitions will be formed, there are no other positions to fill other than class monitor), the election process invites foul play such as Cheng Cheng asking a classmate to yell insults during Xiofei’s speech. It’s interesting and somewhat surprising that the type of democracy used in a Chinese classroom closely mirrors (at least in this sense) American presidentialism.
Even the children’s parents, who grew up with a more traditional Chinese education that probably did not glorify democracy, became very invested in and excited about the elections. At the risk of projecting my own pro-Democratic, Western viewpoint, this shows the infectious nature of democracy. The role of the parents indicates that being able to elect a representative, even in as small a case as class monitor, is inherently appealing across societies and cultures.
I completely agree with the first part of your statement. The nature of the system definitely encouraged rather foul play and, additionally, there was no reason that Luo Lei would have to give up his power, had he been defeated.
I would push back slightly on the second part of this, since I don’t know if the children or their parents glorified democracy so much as success. I think this ties in to the winner-take-all argument; clearly being class monitor was a desirable and powerful position. Since all parents want their children to succeed, I was more of the mind that they just wanted to help their child to win for the sake of glory, rather than the spirit of democracy.