Maravi

Who should we vote for?

Who should we vote for?
By The Post
Sat 02 July 2011, 04:00 CAT

The fate of our people, the destiny of our country is determined to a substantial extent by the political leaders we elect.

Whether our nation will have good or bad laws, an upright or inefficient administration depends on how we vote, on whom we decide to vote for. Therefore, this imperative duty must be fulfilled carefully and we must choose wisely people who will take the direction of the civil affairs of our country.

And the love of our country urges us to act accordingly in all justice and charity. We should be conscious of the crucial role each one of us as citizens of this country should play in choosing the leaders who will create the Zambia we want to live in.

The observations made by Gilbert Chisenga, a former Commonwealth youth representative for Zambia, on how we should choose our representatives deserves all our favourable consideration. We agree with Gilbert’s suggestion that we should subject our elected leaders to political audit.

And we should ask: “Did they perform according to their political promises?” And as Gilbert concludes, "if they didn’t perform, they shouldn’t be going back to us to ask for votes. Those who performed, if they are going to convince us they did well, then they deserve another term of office”.

We should use our votes for the good of Zambia, as opposed to the good of a particular political party, group or individual. We should vote for candidates who have proved themselves accountable to the electorate for the common good. We should choose representatives who are courageous in defending truth and justice for all, who are completely honest in fulfilling public and private responsibilities. And when the day for voting comes, let us use our votes to make sure that the right person is elected.

State House and Parliament should not have people who let us down morally and otherwise. Let us vote according to our conscience, in accordance with the highest human values without allowing ourselves to be pressured or dictated to by godfathers, by bribes, threats and self-interest.

Our right to vote will only bear positive fruits for our country when we choose good leaders for presidency and for membership of Parliament and councils. We have the right to choose those who will represent us, and we must do our duty as citizens by choosing people who will serve the country with justice towards all; people who respect the rights of others and public property, people who are mindful about the plight of the poor.

Good elections require intelligent and responsible participation of all citizens who have registered to vote. We therefore have to have the capacity to evaluate our candidates. Those who offer themselves for re-election ought to be evaluated against the record of what they have or have not achieved. As Gilbert has already pointed out, we should ask: did they fulfil their promises? Did they offer quality service to all the people and not only to their relatives and friends and cadres? Were they available to listen to the concerns of the people and were they selfless in responding to the needs of all, especially the poor? We will have to review the performance of our present representatives, weigh them in the balance of truth, justice and unselfish service, and, if we find them wanting, reject them and elect others in their place.

Those who have not yet held office should be carefully evaluated in terms of their competence and their reputation for honesty and selfless dedication to the common good. We should evaluate their courage to speak out the truth, concern for social justice, desire to work for the common good instead of self-enrichment, disposition to use power for service, especially service of the poor and the underprivileged, openness to dialogue, good moral standing, transparency and accountability to the electorate.

Let’s use our vote to help eliminate the unworthy and improve the quality of the political leadership of our country. Let’s choose only candidates who are good for the country and let’s do so strictly according to the good we think they can do.

Let us not forget that election time is a time to vote for honest, courageous, hardworking and selfless leaders. It is an opportune time to review our past in order to prepare for better political choices for the future.

The proper role of political leaders is to serve the citizens. And they do this by creating opportunities that benefit all citizens without discrimination. All Zambians should be concerned with the way political leaders lead them and administer public goods. That is why elections are very important.

Don’t vote for leaders who threaten you with development sanctions if you voted for their opponents or competitors. We must vote wisely and only for people known for their honesty, ability and concern for the welfare of all. Let us not forget that “where there is no wise guidance, the people fall” (Proverbs 11:14). Let those we elect to rule do so with care. And only those who can do so with care deserve our votes. Let’s vote only for leaders who are willing to listen to the people, respect the people and work for the welfare of all the people; leaders who are willing to fight against injustice and to devote themselves to the welfare of all.

We should not take the choice of leaders lightly. Good leaders can do a lot to increase the quality of life in our country. Equally, bad leaders can do a lot of damage to our country and to our lives. Let’s vote for people who will bring pride to our nation and ensure economic prosperity and social justice and ensure that our children can bring up their children with a future to look forward to. Let us vote for people who can protect the ordinary people against the abuse of power. Let us vote for people who can take away the despair of our people and give them hope; people who will not allow the resources of this country to benefit just a few. Let us vote for people who will strengthen our people’s confidence in democracy and the rule of law, the nobility of the human soul and sustain all our hopes for a glorious life for all.

Labels: 2011 ELECTIONS

posted by MrK @ 5:35 PM