There are countless articles being written every day, countless manifestos running around, and countless politicians working round the clock with one sole purpose: Trying to convince you to vote for them.

But how do you, the precious elector, choose? How do you make that choice to vote for someone? How do you choose three people, amongst so many others, in your constituency? How do you choose your representatives?

There are so many questions which are, unfortunately, not being asked by the electors and so here’s a dummy guide to voting in Mauritius, which hopefully will re-direct the lost minds of some electors.

Vote for a politician whose vision for the future is similar to yours regardless of caste and creed: The politician does not have to be from the same background as you are and does not have to born in the same community as you have, to be a great leader worthy of your vote. If one has the ability to think outside the box for our society and to have a better vision of the future than it is today, then vote for that politician. This is what will matter 10 years down the line.

Vote for the politician who does not criticise his opponent constantly and continuously: Running clean elections without mudslinging is a tough job but merit should be granted to those politicians who try not to do it constantly and at every possible opportunity. It might be appealing to the public and to the press but urge yourself to see the bigger picture.  Remember the values that you stand for and vote for the politician who shares his values through his actions.

Vote for the politician who is truly committed to building a better society: How do you gauge someone’s commitment you may ask? It is certainly a tricky question but for me, it would be by their actions. Are their current and proposed actions sustainable ones? Or are they just there for a fleeting and brief period of time? Vote for the one who promotes long-term rather than short-term impacts. See beyond the thrill of an incentive that will last for 6 months and go for the less-exciting-looking but more beneficial project.

Vote for the politician who does not lose sight of the vision they once had. This is my personal way of determining if a politician is worth my vote: Go and look into the vision they once had when they first started their career (unless they are newcomers into the political arena: In which case, then give them a chance to prove themselves- Politics is a game of evolution & revolution and new faces bring it.) and see whether they still have the same vision today. Being in politics equates to being in faithful to your own vision and not to let power corrupt the mind. And as such, vote for the politician who has not swayed too far from his initial path.

Last but not least, just vote. Abstention from voting is as bad as voting for the wrong people to lead our society and our country. Let us all realise that as much as the electoral campaign might seem to be a big power fight, the power is and will always remain with the people. The members of the government are voted by us the people. The choice is ours. So make it worthwhile. Whether you realise it or not, the butterfly effect of an election stays with a country for generations and generations. This choice of yours is what will matter 5 years, 10 years, 15 years down the line. This choice you will make today is what will matter to your future and that of your family, your children, and generations to come.  So make the right choice.  No pressure at all.

Facebook Comments