ᴍᴀɴᴅᴀᴛᴏʀʏ ᴠᴏᴛɪɴɢ ᴀɴᴅ ɪᴍᴘʟɪᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴs
Democracy was designed to save us from tyranny and to create a system of government that ensure the involvement of the people in every major political decisions, a representative government that rules on behalf of the people, with the people's interest being the highest priority. Government of the people, by the people, for the people - as defined by abram Lincoln. An acute definition of what the practice of democracy is meant to be.
One of the primary attribute of democracy is franchise, the right of every citizen to vote and be voted for. This is how representatives that govern on behalf of the people are elected. In most democratic setting, a president and other members of executive arm of government are elected into power every 4 years and maximum of 8 years in office. Which means an elected president can remain in power for two terms making 8 years in total.
Every elected representative of the people, is known to be chosen by the people, since they were elected into power by the people. Which means electing someone to govern on behalf of the people is solely dependent on the citizens discretion. Though this is not all that gets leaders elected in today's society, there is more to election than what an average man sees. But based on textbook definition of how a representative of the people rise to power, that is how it is done.
Here comes the issue, the people that are expected to vote and elect a leader, might not Vote, it might be lack of knowledge or lack of interest; an attribute of political apathy. Voting is a game of numbers, and people who form the larger percentage of the voting power of a country are uneducated or not aware of their political responsibility. Especially in developing countries, which means there is a high possibility that an incapable leader will be elected due to low turnout of voters.
This is a fact everyone gunning for political office is aware of. So while most people are making noise on social media about who should be elected and who should not, politicians go to rural areas, not the cities. The reason is quite simple, large percentage of people in villages and rural areas don't have enough knowledge to resist being manipulated by politicians. While the ones in the city are too busy to vote.
Moreover, manipulating such people doesn't cost much, compared to those in the city. Since they are not aware of how much power their vote carries, with few pennies and a promise for a better future, they would scream the names of their oppressors and gladly cast their votes for them. This is one of the issues democracy face, when the masses lack policital awareness or education, how do you expect them to vote a capable leader into power.
So, instead of trusting voters to make their own decision, either to choose to vote or not, why not force them? It might make sense to ordinary people or people who don't understand the nature of humans. The reason why democracy was introduced is to eradicate tyranny or absolutism. To give power to the people and make leaders be at the mercy of the people. The moment we allow a system that forces voters to vote, it will be abused.
Even as it is right now, in a country like mine, it is getting very difficult to trust the electoral commission to do their jobs. Now imagine if those people are also given the power to force voters to vote during elections, then the leader that is voted into power might not necessarily be the choice of the people but the choice of those who forced the people to vote the elected candidate. The freewill and choice will no longer be with the people but in the hands of those who dictates how the voting exercise should be carried out.
This write-up was inspired by weekly featured content titled Voting by force in hive learners community.
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The older i get the less i care about democracy, it is my idea that most people are retarded, hence, to live in democracy we are destined to rule under the rule of the retards. Universal sufrage destroys society in unpredictable ways.
Would like to point out that tirany is the solution for democratic problems, this is what we do when democracy fails, we elect a leader that will take full power to resolve issues that are in some way blocked by normal democratic processes. It is the regular end of failed democratic states. My 2 cents anyway
Rather than forcing people to vote, the government can encourage the masses to vote, should encourage free, fair and credible.
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