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| Tuesday, 30 March 2004 |
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Making your vote count The Moving finger by Lionel Wijesiri Sampath, a manager at a blue-chip company, told me last week that he has decided not to vote at the April Election. He is a well educated, competent young man of 24 years and had voted twice in his adult life. I asked him, what made him take the decision. He gave me four reasons: One, he does not like any of the candidates he is supposed to select. Two, he is turned off by the big money and corruption. Three, he has no time to vote because he has better things to do. Finally, Sampath thinks, his vote (just one vote) does not matter. I tried to explain to him the ground realities. I told him, "For your first reason, you are going to have many of them whether you like it or not. It is better to decide which three you can more easily stand. And for big money and corruption, do you honestly think it's going to go away if you do not vote? There are more effective ways of fighting corruption, if you really want to. And, for your third reason regarding precious time, remember it takes less time to vote than to go to the grocery store or read the newspaper. Your last point of whether your vote matters, believe me, supporters of each party know their votes matter and they are going to vote. Aren't you going to answer them?" Sampath is just one person among many thousands who will not visit the polling booth on April 2nd to exercise a citizen's most important fundamental right. What we have to educate them is that if they do not at least attempt to effect change or take part, people like Sampath have no right to complain about the system of government, the Prime Minister, Cabinet, the Parliament, the laws, or the rights (or lack thereof) that they wind up with as a result of other people's votes. I believe that those who bleat excuses about how the vote is rigged or how the system of voting is hopelessly obsolete and futile, are simply trying to comfort themselves with justifications for the fact that they were too lazy to get off their seats, do a little research, make some decisions, and mark a cross on the ballot paper. Obviously, the non-voters waived their rights to participate in the choosing of their government, so where do they get off on criticizing it? In a democracy, voting is a right as well as your responsibility. It is important to realize that voting allows each individual to take responsibility for their beliefs and ideas. By voting you are making your own decisions. We must not allow others to decide for us! Each citizen has the right to voice their opinion, and the responsibility to help their government by participating in the decision making process. Erosion However, we must also accept the fact that a large number of the our population, particularly - youth, have lost confidence in their political leaders. It is clear that for some, not voting is a deliberate vote of no confidence in the politicians and political system. I call this sector "the disillusioned generation." Many are disillusioned with the cynicism, opportunism and secrecy which have come to characterise our politics. Others are disaffected by the lack of leadership shown by the party leaders. The erosion of popular engagement with the political process threatens to weaken the authority and relevance of important institutions. Even Parliament has lost public credibility. In an era of mass communication and social mobility, the gulf that separates the political class from the electorate is all too apparent. In the past, the elites were supposed to inhabit a different planet from everybody else. But to acknowledge the distance that separates the political class from the people today risks exposing the legitimacy of the system to some uncomfortable questions. The growing mood of apathy is testimony to the irrelevance of contemporary political life. It highlights the considerable emotional distance that separates people from their so-called representatives. The art of politics today is to create the impression that differences between parties matter to people, and that therefore the electoral battle has some significance for society. Party professionals are unlikely to acknowledge that politics has been emptied of meaning. On the contrary, they continually attempt to endow electoral contests with some deep, policy-related significance. Sadly, political life cannot be revitalised through the various gimmicks suggested by political operators. If voting becomes a banal act like flushing the toilet, it can only mean that the system is accommodating further still to cynicism and passivity. Those who are genuinely interested in real democratic participation need to look at what can be done outside of party politics. That is the major challenge today. Sovereignty However, we must never forget that sovereign power rests with the people. History has shown that people who forgot this principle eventually regretted it. Those who wield power are stewards, not masters. As long as our elected members know that they are still elected and that the people still have to favour them enough to vote them into office, at least part of the reins of our government remain in our hands. The moment everyone abandons their rights to pick their leaders and lawmakers (and to legally vote those whom they do not like out of office) will be the moment elections stop being held. And then the dragons take over. The right, and the responsibility, to take part in our government might be compared to the cricket game, which Sri Lankans really love. The umpires in the game have the right to make calls about the operation of the game and whether the players are playing by the rules. If they do to accept this responsibility by exercising this right, the game does not function properly; it becomes chaotic and a free-for-all. The same happens with our government. If we, as voters (the umpires), do not accept our responsibility to make calls about the operation of our government and whether the politicians (the players) are playing by the rules, the government does not function properly. In order to help ourselves, we must accept this responsibility and take part in the election process by voting intelligently. Remember, your vote is your voice. It gives you the power to make a difference each Election Day. So on April 2nd, make your vote count. |
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