26 Jan 2022  |   05:04am IST

Every vote counts, that is the message

National Voters Day has come plum in the middle of the election process for the February 14 State Assembly polls, presenting the opportunity to create voter awareness and hence increase participation in the elections. When compared with the rest of the country, Goa is one State that does not suffer from a low voter turnout, and even by-elections have seen voters go out in big numbers to the polling stations to cast their votes. In that respect, Goa may not have to worry much about voting percentages, but it is still important to reiterate that a single vote can make a difference and that it is imperative that every possible voter does exercise his or her franchise.

The right to vote has been given to each individual aged 18 and above under the Constitution. In a democracy, like India’s it is a right to elect to the Legislature and Parliament those individuals and parties that the people want and hence also gives the people the right to make a change, by voting out a government and replacing it with another. In a democracy the voter can make the change and it is important to appreciate that every vote counts. On National Voter Day, the Election Commission of India launched the voters awareness contest ‘My Vote is my Future – Power of One Vote’ on social media reiterating the importance of every vote. 

There is no doubt that every vote counts and that voting determines each one’s future. Abstaining from voting is not a solution, as it not only displays disinterest in the election process and in the democratic functioning of the State, but could also lead to the wrong party coming to power and staying at the helm for the next five years. The attitude that a section of the people have – one vote doesn’t matter – and so leads them to stay away from the polling booth has to end. In the civic polls held last year, there was an instance where a candidate was elected by a single vote, underlining just how important it is to vote. Besides, in India polling day is a public holiday so that people get the opportunity to vote.

Hasn’t it often been said that the people get the government they deserve? It is when people don’t go out to vote that they allow the others who do go out to decide for them, and that decision may always be the best. To get the best government that is representative of the entire population, all eligible voters have to visit the polling booth and exercise their right to vote, whether they agree with the choice of candidate or not. Voters have now been given the choice of voting for no candidate by pressing the button against None of the Above, if they are not happy with any of the candidates. Voting NOTA is not a waste of a vote, but expresses the sentiment that people are not happy with the choice in candidates. 

The vote, therefore, becomes an agent of continuity and change. Continuity if the people believe that the governments in power deserves another term of five years, change if it wants to replace it with a new administration. The power of the vote can be seen in how the country has voted out governments whenever they have been unhappy with the functioning of the dispensation in power. Each vote therefore can play an important part in making the change. This is what the Election Commission of India has been attempting to convey with its programmes and initiatives on National Voter Day. With elections in Goa less than three weeks away, hopefully the efforts will succeed in getting more people voting on February 14.


IDhar UDHAR

Idhar Udhar