So, an elite should rule, because the general population is too dumb to rule itself. I'm not sure the premise is true, but I can respect the argument.

The problem is, how can the system tell the corrupt from the trustworthy? Certainly not with elections: (i) it didn't work, (ii) voters are too poorly informed, and (iii) if the people are too dumb to be trusted with policies, how can they be trusted with their vote?

Recursing back a little, what we really want is a friendly, competent, powerful, and stable governance. That pose a number of problems: we don't know what "friendly" really means, competence is hard to come by, and power is wickedly dangerous if the first criteria are not satisfied.