Campaign by candidates for national positions already started together with the usual mudslinging and other strategies to ensure victory. Every election season, the issues on corruption, graft, incompetence, and even personal matters are revived and many are frustrated over this “circus”. It seems our country is continuously descending into a hopeless state where any form of political exercise is a futile. Someone once asked me: “Why should I even bother to vote in the elections? Will my vote even matter?”. It was a question that left me speechless and made me ask myself, whether a single vote really matters. But in the end, I came to the realization that those questions came from a constituent who might have been frustrated of hearing the same issues in every election season over and over again and not seeing much change in the status of the country.
It is my belief that every single vote cast during an election matters. This is the very essence of our democratic process. It is through the ballot that the electorate express their supreme will as the sovereign. It is not just a privilege but a duty that each voter has to fulfil. This great power to choose public officials comes with great responsibility so they say. In our exercise of our power and responsibility we strive to become more aware of the affairs of the state or government. We should try to become more discerning with respect to our choice of candidates. Since this is our government, we voters have to try to get involved with the issues involving governance. Elections remind our officials that the real power is in the people and they are accountable to them and this is one of the reasons why our right to vote should be exercised.
It might be true that voting a certain candidate during the elections will not make our troubles go away at once. It might be the first step which must be followed by our commitment to constantly get involved with the affairs of our government. Without the people’s participation in the programs of the government, our choice during the coming elections will indeed be useless because the performance of the functions of our officials will simply become impossible.
We should bother to vote because it is our duty, responsibility, function, and privilege. We should bother to vote because it is our government. We should bother to vote because our choice matters. Otherwise, let us just restore absolute monarchy as our form of government and leave our fate to chance of the crown landing upon the head of a wise and good king or queen.
