Maravi

Let’s ensure all register to vote

Let’s ensure all register to vote
By The Post
Wed 13 Oct. 2010, 04:00 CAT

It is said that democracy does not begin and end with elections. Elections are just one event in the whole democratic dispensation. Voting in the election of public officials is the most visible and common form of participation in modern democracies, and also the most fundamental. The ability to conduct free and fair elections is at the core of what it means to call a society democratic.

The motivations of voters are as numerous as the societies and interests that they represent. Voters obviously cast their ballots for candidates who represent their interests, but other factors influence voter preference as well.

Party affiliation is one: individuals who identify strongly with a political party are much more likely to vote than those who identify themselves as independent or non-partisan. There are numerous other factors that can influence voter registration, preference and turnout at polls. Socio-economic status, the relative ease of registering to vote, the strength of the party system, the frequency of elections, the media image of the candidates – all affect how many and how often voters will register and cast ballots.

As we have stated before, in democratic elections, the struggle is often not to determine which candidate commands the greatest public support, but who can most effectively motivate his or her supporters to convert their opinions into votes. The lingering danger of voter apathy is not that public offices will go unfilled, but that office holders will be elected by smaller and smaller percentages of eligible voters.

There is a very important role to be played by political parties in ensuring that the greatest number of qualifying citizens register as voters and indeed go to vote on election day. Political parties recruit, nominate and campaign to elect public officials; draw up policy programmes for the government if they are in the majority; offer criticisms and alternative policies if they are in opposition; mobilise support for common policies among different interest groups; educate the public about public issues; and provide structure and rules for the society’s political debate.

In some political systems, ideology may be an important factor in recruiting and motivating party members; elsewhere, similar economic interests or social outlook may be more important than ideological commitment. Political parties are as varied as the societies in which they function. The election campaigns they conduct are often elaborate, usually time-consuming, sometimes silly. But the function is deadly serious: to provide a peaceful and fair method by which the citizens of a democracy can elect their leaders and have a meaningful role in determining their own destiny. Clearly, there is more to democracy.

And as Finnish Ambassador to Zambia Sinikka Antila has correctly observed, democracy is meaningless without full participation of all citizens in the country’s democratic processes. And it is important to understand that elections are not only about the elections day; it is a process. And in our country, this process starts with obtaining a national registration card to enable one to register as a voter.

It also involves educating oneself about the principles of democracy and the positions of the candidates and their political parties on various issues. Education is a vital component of any society, but especially of a democracy.

As Thomas Jefferson wrote: “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilisation, it expects what never was and never shall be.” The object of voter education is to produce citizens who are independent, questioning, analytical in their outlook, yet deeply familiar with the precepts and practices of democracy. We say this because people may be born with an appetite for personal freedom, but they are not born with knowledge about the social and political arrangements that make freedom possible overtime for themselves and their children – such things must be acquired, they must be learned.

Democracy is not a machine that runs by itself once the proper principles and procedures are inserted. A democratic society needs the commitment of citizens. It is clear to us that the current voter apathy that is manifesting itself in low voter registration and low turnout at by-elections is a result of the weak organisation of our political parties. More needs to be done to improve the performance of our political parties and their appeal to the great majority of our people.

Our multi-party democracy will only be strengthened if political parties play their role in the most efficient, effective and orderly manner and when their prestige is highest. But the political practices of those in power are not aiding this. They are not only weakening or undermining the performance of the opposition political parties but even of the ruling party itself.

Instead of the ruling party improving its capacity to mobilise popular support, it is increasingly resorting to tyranny, violence and other forms of intimidation, manipulation and of corrupting the population. Those who are in power want to govern as if they are in a one-party state and not a multi-party democracy. This de facto one-party state approach to politics is the main source of this political degeneracy and decay. They are using this to insulate themselves in power. And as we have seen, this leads to political complacency, unchecked corruption and government by the police.

We need to find a way out of this. We cannot continue on this path for too long and harbour any hope for progress. And without citizen participation in all the processes of our democracy, and especially in elections, our democracy will begin to weaken and completely disappear. The right to participation in governance requires participatory democracy.

Participatory democracy requires, not only democratic structures, but also the reign of democratic values in the hearts and minds of our people. Democratic structures without corresponding democratic values in the hearts and minds of our people are rootless. In any true democracy, more is needed than political institutions and practices such as voting and representation in Parliament. We must hold on to some values and norms, some expectations and aspirations. This is the environment, the atmosphere, that makes democracy work.

We feel this is so necessary in Zambia today if our multi-party democracy is to succeed. Let us not forget that the democratic form of government, like all human institutions, is full of shortcomings, but it is the form that suits the human person best, as an intelligent and free being and a co-operator with God in the building of his future.

The enjoyment of the right to participation in governance and decision making in a country entails the knowledge of what constitutes democracy and the requirements of democracy, the things which can make democracy work. This requires a broad-based voter or civic education.

For these reasons, we again urge all our people who have not yet registered as voters to quickly do so and ensure that they vote in next year’s elections. We also urge our political parties and other civic organisations to stretch themselves to the utmost and ensure that as many of our people as possible are helped to register as voters.

And as Bishop John Osmers has observed, it is important that all citizens are able to take part in elections “because elections are so important, being the means of creating government responsible to the people and a necessary means of ensuring peace and stability in the nation”.

Labels: VOTER REGISTRATION

posted by MrK @ 4:05 PM