Every eligible Zimbabwean is encouraged to vote on the 23rd of August this year.
Voting is a democratic right.
Several freedom fighters lost their lives for that right, as some were maimed fighting for the independence of having, ‘one men one vote’.
The importance of voting may not be over emphasised but a cursory reflection of why some people sacrificed their lives for that right should be a moment of reckoning.
Those who liberated this country envisioned a land were people could freely select their leaders of their choice without intimidation or fear.
People should not be tied down by a few individuals who have hijacked the gains of the liberation struggle for personal aggrandisement.
23 August is the day were Zimbabweans should by their numbers flock to polling stations and cast their vote for candidates of their choice.
History need to be realigned when it is going weird.
“How long shall they kill our prophets While we stand aside and look…”, Bob Marley and the Wailers sang.
What is election
Election is the process of selecting a person for public office or of accepting or rejecting a political proposition by voting.
Research reveals that most countries hold elections in at least the formal sense, but in many of them the elections are not competitive this might be so because, all but one party may be forbidden to contest or the electoral situation is in other respects highly compromised.
Normally authoritarian regimes most of the times uses elections as a way to achieve a degree of popular legitimacy.
Opposition parties are allowed to participate, but sometimes they face intimidation by the government and its allies, which thereby precludes the effective mobilisation of potential supporters.
In addition, it has been a common practice of authoritarian regimes to intervene once balloting has begun by intimidating voters, through physical attacks and or by manipulation of vote counting that have been cast freely.
Elections are a fundamental component of democratic governance.
Elections enable voters to select leaders and to hold them accountable for their performance in office.
Elections serve a self-actualizing purpose by confirming the worth and dignity of individual citizens as human beings.
Whatever other needs voters may have, participation in an election serves to reinforce their self-esteem and self-respect.
Voting gives people an opportunity to have their say and, through expressing partisanship, to satisfy their need to feel a sense of belonging.
Even nonvoting satisfies the need of some people to express their alienation from the political community.
Elections and the campaigns preceding them are dramatic events that are accompanied by rallies, banners, posters, buttons, headlines, and television coverage, all of which call attention to the importance of participation in the event.
Why it is a must to vote?
For the people, voting should be a serious civic duty.
As for others, voting can be viewed as too much of a hassle, too much pressure, or a useless endeavor.
It is important that everyone’s voices be heard on election day.
Everyone’s vote makes a difference.
There are plenty of cases where a small number of votes have decided elections.
For the presidential elections, for one to be declared a winner, the person must gunner 50 plus one vote.
The plus one vote is defining to the extend that without a plus one, there will be a rerun.
Voting for a candidate is not an endorsement, it is a preference.
It is rare to agree with a candidate on every issue, but it is important to make sure they know what issues you care about.
Usually there is one candidate who represents personal interests better than the others.
When one choose not to vote, that is letting others decide who gets to make and enforce laws for everyone.
Everyone should play an active role in deciding who is going to represent their interests.
Elections affect daily life
Life is affected by government, laws, and elected representatives every day.
Common Cause aptly said, there is not a single aspect of daily life that is not affected by government.
The roads people drive on, the air one breathe, the water to drink, the food one eat, the schools were children learn, and the recreation facilities are all functions of government.
Preparing to vote reminder
The elected are people making decisions that affect one’s life.
By voting, it is an exhibition of the power to select who will be making decisions on one’s behalf for the next five years.
Zimbabwe is for every Zimbabwean be it a war veteran, the born free or the yet not born.
Every Zimbabwean has a right to be led by a candidate of choice, be it a war hero or by a born free and that is the undebateable truth and no one can take that right from anyone.
As Zimbabweans cast their votes, they should be reminded that every vote carries the same weight, whether it is of a virgin voter or of the army commander.
Come 23 August, no men is more equal than the other; every vote for a preferred candidate is equal and it will count in the trajectory a voter aspires onm.
“Emancipate yourself from mental slavery None but ourselves can free our mind…”, it is worthy signing out with a redemption verse from late Bob Marley.