The Worst Win

The second term MP election is about a few weeks from now,and people, by now, must have matured the politicking canniness, shrewdness, and tactfulness affairs. The voters should have some qualifications of the right person already in their minds. People had very good choices. They had four parties in their hand. And hope they selected the best two in their preliminary round.

With powerful and influential candidates, people’s minds were loaded and taken over by DPT in 2008. That was good. People’s choice was right. DPT ruled the country with much peace and happiness. They brought development to many rural sides.  On the other hand, DPT taught Bhutanese people the value of money, and this is good. Bhutanese by nature were spendthrift and didn’t care much about balance and saving. The financial crunch did. It was a blessing in disguise.

Now the two political parties’ promises look lofty and wonky sometimes. If their manifestos were to come true, every Bhutanese needn’t work. We will be spoon-fed. Government budget to each gewog, a health centre in every chiwog, community-based services, blacktopping farm roads, 100% job, etc and etc.   

But, if lessons were to be learned, there were scores of very bad examples of the elected members who have joined the politics for the love of power and money. A few of them turned out to be worse than statues, stealthily, filling up their stomachs. Some have even bought three or more bulldozers and excavators and are running a business in projects like Punatsagchu. A few of the elected members had used lip services and faked promises to garner votes. People knew. These types of malfunction especially by the ruling party will downsize our small nation.

Bhutan didn’t know much of these would happen in the 1^st election. Now people know; there are tensions lurking between the horse and the bird; there are blame games being played; there are differences, and trying to come to a common conclusion. There are talks in every small gathering and sorts like that about choosing a leader of good heart, responsible, capable, understanding, etc. The group, who needs to remain apolitical, civil servants, are by name only, they are the most politically active in the faction of the society. They influenced the voters the most. The majority of voters think that educated people's choice would be right, not going by grassroots need. And similar is the case with the religious body. In the name of religion, religious anti-political people become very much politic. For example, to conjecture to the people that if anyone votes for Mr.X, he/she will bring good luck, good power, good things, etc to the place.

Politicization is important. Therefore,voters shouldn’t be moved by any shaft of hope. People must, by now, also know that the individual mustn’t decide the candidate, but, rather it is the responsibility of people coming together and deciding on their representative. Democracy is sometimes described as communities of people coming together, and it imagines many voices pouring into a unified whole. Democracy should permeate the world beyond politics, making itself felt in the ways people think, speak, work, fight, and even make forte.  No nepotism, no relations, no bribery, nothing, but electing through the collective decision is the true principle in democracy. Because it’s for the greater goodness and well-being of the whole, not an individual.

Have I Voted?

There I stood;

In front of an Electronic Voting Machine

Unable to decide…

Three pictures on the EVM

Reflected me

Who am I?

Why should I press the button?

Why I am here? ...

Three pictures on the EVM smile

One, my father’s enemy

Second, my cousin brother

Third, I didn’t know;

He never visited my village.

The trios had done nothing as such to the village.

I closed my eyes;

Tried to study their past

It was too late to decide

I heard so many voices

For three days in the village, saying;

Mr. X is good,

Mr. Y is excellent

Mr. Z is outstanding.

Who knows who is good?

Or bad?

Politicians are the dirtiest species on the earth

Even you and I…if in their place

Unable to decide…

So be it

Right is the freedom to choose.

I came out;

Perplexed and saddened.

Have I cast a vote?

Your Vote is Your Voice

Come the 23^rd of April, Bhutan will have the second round of National Council election. Many people will have exercised their franchise. I read that, this time the number of voters is far more than the previous. Election turnout in Bhutan was poor in 2008. Only around 51 percent of Bhutanese voted in the first democratic election.

There is a need to encourage Bhutanese to cast their votes. And there is something important to learn that voting and electing representative is very vital for them.  Besides creating a conscience on the importance of voting, Bhutanese need to raise awareness of political issues that concern all of us. The Election Commission of Bhutan has been doing this through media like songs, pamphlets, gatherings, announcements, etc. It is a great job. But politics is not a small issue. That is why it is important for us to be empowered and taken action in the best possible way, casting our vote and making our voice heard is our right, and it is our major responsibility.

One of the most inclusive and simplified definitions of democracy is, “A system of the people run by the people for the people.” Now, we know, voting is for ourselves.

Voting is one of the most important rights and responsibilities that every citizen has. Casting a vote is, therefore, a privilege, right, and duty of each and every citizen of a society. Sadly, the truth is, nowadays, many simply do not want to vote, simply for varying reasons.  Many of us think that the individuals' vote doesn't matter in the large scheme. Some are not keen to vote. Some of us also think that none of the presented candidates deserve to be in power, and thus don't bother to vote. Some of us are left herding cattle in the jungle, and some because of hurdles like the distance of the polling booth, do not vote.

A democratic government is a system of choosing its representative from the mass, who should then look to make the optimum decisions for the society he represents. If we don't take part in the process of choosing the right representative for our community, we, therefore, also, forfeit the right to complain about the representative that others have chosen.

That’s why a good citizen should always exercise right to vote.

Every action we take every day determines what sort of country we want to live in, and shapes us. Voting is one such action; whether we vote or not, it is going to shape us and our country.  We need to shape our lives positively now. We should show to the Political Parties that our votes matter!

Every vote counts. An election might be decided by a single vote and history would be changed because a person got...or lost...that one vote! Let me give some examples:  Richard Nixon, not John F. Kennedy, would have become President of the U.S. in 1960 if one person from each voting place had voted differently. Texas might not have become part of the United States in 1845 if one U.S. Senator had voted differently.  The vote in the U.S. Senate was 27-25 to invite Texas to become a state.  If it had been a tie, Texas would not have been asked to become part of the Union. If we have not voted for Jigme Y.Thinley, he wouldn’t have become the prime minister of Bhutan.

So, we can make a difference by playing a role in choosing our leaders and changing our laws by voting. We must, therefore, also learn about the candidates and issues before we vote in any election. And know what's going on in our country and community currently, and can predict for the next five years. Most importantly, as voters, we have the right to demand any developmental activities, problems, crises, etc from our elected officials, and to answer for any kind of behavior. Because we have played our part in the democratic process (voted). We have every right to comment on the actions that the politicians in power are taking.

On the other hand, if we do not vote, we lose the power to say anything about the way our representatives' function. Thus, the power of voting is the power of change; it's the power of making a mark in history and voicing our opinion.

Make Your Voice Heard ... Every Vote Counts!