We are being asked to decide who to hire to run this country for the following 5 year period. Our choices are limited. I often hear that it is a choice for the lesser of two evils. Some things we often hear about are sycophants, diehard supporters, racial divide, safe seats, marginals, and electoral reform. I want to be a responsible voter. I want my decision to lead to the future prosperity of my country.
We can judge a party's performance in government by looking at the indicators and rankings and the problems that were solved. Their role is to run the country. What about the party in opposition, how do we judge their performance in opposition as well as past goverment? What is the role of the opposition? We can look at the work of the opposition MPs. We can look at the amendments and suggestions put forward. How effective was the opposition in holding the government accountable? What about future actions? We can look at the manifestos but we have to look at the past and how many promises were actually kept. I feel like it is easy to make promises and harder to keep those promises.
Being properly informed is part of being a responsible voter. What are the issues affecting me, my community and my country? Where am I getting my coverage from? Who are the influencers in my space? Am I being gullable? Am I being badly biased? Am I providing feedback and constructive criticism?
What about not voting? It is a choice. It is your right. I have seen persons say that if you do not vote you do not have the right to complain. I disagree with this. You always have the right to complain. Not voting and low voter turnout also sends a message. A message that politicians should analyse and learn from. I considered not voting in the last local government elections because I was not pleased with how divisive our politics was. But I put that feeling aside and decided that my vote was making a difference. The empowering feeling of voting outweighed the disenchantment I was feeling.
I am a young adult and I feel like the next generation are the ones we need to focus on. They are the future leaders. I am paying attention to how young persons are involved and the use of technology in the election campaigning. We need a Ministry and Minister of Technology. We need to learn from our mistakes and build the country up instead of tear it down. I am happy to be part of our democracy and shaping the future of our country.
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