As you ponder your vote in Tuesday鈥檚 provincial election, consider this: Many Pakistani women didn鈥檛 vote in that country鈥檚 election Saturday because they would have been harassed or even attacked because the male-dominated culture disapproves of women participating in elections.
In many countries of the world, people risk their lives to get to the ballot box.
In sa国际传媒, even though voting is no more trouble than going for a latt茅, half of the eligible voters can鈥檛 be bothered.
The complaint is often heard that democracy is being eroded by heavy-handed government, but governments are constrained by the will of the people, and that will is manifested at the ballot box. Complain loudly whenever and however you will 鈥� sometimes elected representatives listen, sometimes they don鈥檛. But they can鈥檛 ignore the results on election night.
It鈥檚 commonly accepted that democracy is rule by majority, but if the majority doesn鈥檛 vote, the minority makes the decisions. If politicians aren鈥檛 heeding the silent majority, it鈥檚 because the majority chooses not to express its voice by voting.
Others think that one vote doesn鈥檛 make enough difference to matter. Tell that to the candidate who loses by a handful of votes.
At the beginning of the election campaign, looking through the pollsters鈥� lenses, it seemed the sa国际传媒 New Democrats would walk away with the election. As election day approaches, the gap has narrowed to the point where it鈥檚 a real race that could go either way. The latest poll, commissioned by the sa国际传媒, shows the NDP leading the sa国际传媒 Liberals by about four percentage points among decided voters, little more than the margin of error.
But nearly a quarter of those surveyed said they were undecided 鈥� the candidates are keenly aware of that bloc and they are keenly aware of the importance of a single vote. They know that victory lies in rallying support from among the undecided, and from those who don鈥檛 usually vote.
You might have thought your party was guaranteed to win or doomed to lose, so why bother? Given the poll results, that is now not the case, and perhaps never was. 鈥淭he only poll that counts is the one on election day鈥� is a clich茅, but being clich茅 does not make it any less true.
Low voter turnout is the special-interest group鈥檚 best friend. The fewer the voters, the easier it is to turn the election in favour of one cause or candidate. The vote you don鈥檛 cast works to someone鈥檚 benefit whether you want it to or not.
If you are not inclined to support either of the major parties, this is your chance 鈥� both the NDP and the sa国际传媒 Liberals are nervous about the Green party and the Conservative party. In some constituencies, the minor parties will have a huge influence on the outcome.
Perhaps you are one of those so disillusioned by politics, you don鈥檛 want to vote for any candidate. Get over it 鈥� life offers few perfectly clear choices. Compromise is necessary to get along in this world. Inform yourself about the platforms and choose the one that comes the closest to what you feel and believe.
Even if your party doesn鈥檛 win, your vote makes a difference. A government that wins a squeaker performs far differently than one that wins by a landslide.
We sometimes complain that politicians always have their eyes on the next election, but really, that鈥檚 the way it should be. Our votes are concrete evidence of our approval or disapproval of what they do while in office.
In this chaotic world, we are privileged to be able to change or reinstate government without resorting to guns and bombs. It鈥檚 a privilege we should not take lightly.
