Whether we like it or not, voting is the only way people can choose who they want to lead them. Let's forget about whether our vote count or not; the first thing is VOTING! It's when we must have taken action that we have the right to complain as we please.
You know, I used to see lots of online patriotic citizens who don't even have a voter's card, yet they are the noisiest makers on social media, shouting about bad government and ranting up and down over the harsh economy, yet they won't do the needful; they won't bother playing their part but prefer to complain as if that is the solution.
Voting by force is the prompt topic, and we are asked to discuss if voting should be made mandatory for every eligible citizen. That is, if you fail to vote during elections, you could be arrested and tried in a criminal court. I am imagining seeing people get arrested for failure to cast their vote as the law demands, and I also imagine if such action will make people really get involved politically or even create more trouble.
Firstly, forcing people to vote doesn't mean forcing them to make an informed decision. Trust humans; once they know that punishments are attracted to something, they might do it for doing's sake but may not actually do it right. That is to say that people can actually go to the polling unit to cast their vote in order to avoid being punished, but they may not care about the candidate to vote for but just cast a casual vote for anyone whose name appears first. And the question is, does this make any tangible difference?
It's obvious that there is bad leadership, unemployment, a harsh economy, etc., and these are things people complain about, but then it baffles me that the same people wouldn't want to vote with the mindset that their vote won't count. No doubt, we all understand the frustration but it's not enough.
Some simply don't like the contesting candidates; they don't believe anything good will come from them, and thus their decision not to vote. And for such people, will you force them the vote for who they don't believe in? If yes, then our freedom to choose not to vote is forfeited.
However, if people should stay at home and say they wouldn't vote, then we are left with anyone that shows up to decide for us, whether good or bad.
Well, instead of attaching punishment to those who choose not to vote, there should be another approach to make great elections. First, citizens should be well sensitized, and most importantly, the government should work on making each vote count. With that, people will be encouraged to willingly come out to vote because they know their vote will count.
Voting is something that should be encouraged but shouldn't be forced or attached to punishment for failing to vote.
This post is in response to the #hive learners prompt on the topic titled, VOTING BY FORCE
image was created using chatgpt
