Editor,
Going by the true spirit, elections are a celebration of freedom, the regime of democracy, the joy of activities, and the zest of competitions.
Some mistakenly think that elections are a time of ‘war’. Some even resort to occasional violence as is sometimes evidenced here and there. This attitude is a pitiful concept of elections. The truth is that there are no ‘enemies’ but only fellow ‘competitors’. Some score the higher points while others score lesser counts. But, in a way, every contestant is popular to a certain level.
While it is nasty to play ‘politics’ in games and sports, it is absolutely important to take politics in the spirit of games and sports. You should not allow your victory to puff you up so much that your legs do not touch the ground, and ‘losing’ must not be allowed to brand you. You are not a ‘loser’. What you really are not what you ‘do’, or what you get, or what people say about you. You are always unique and special.
On a more noble level, you don’t always have to be an elected representative like an MLA or an MP in order to love, guide, inspire and serve you respective communities or societies. Whether you ever contested in an election or not, whether you are elected or not, you can and you should always continue to genuinely serve your people as much as possible. In this way, you are a true ‘minister’, which actually means a ‘servant’.
You can show to the people that you care about the commoners, whether you are elected or not. A good person always brings out the good that is within himself or herself.
It is also generally seen that political campaign speeches are more negative than positive. That is, they do not have a lot of good things to say about themselves. So, naturally, they find it very easy to point fingers at the other sides. Again, this type of ‘better than thou’ approach is not helping in the long run. You actually have to do good to be good. Omissions cannot be counted as your accomplishments.
Ideally, the elected leaders must genuinely love and serve their constituencies, so that people know for sure that you are someone who is both able and effective. In this way, it will be even difficult for you to quit leadership, because people want you to continue.
Again, winning is not everything. It is only the start of the journey of service. At times, winning may only mean that people are weary of the present leader and are trying out a new leader. So you will have to prove your proficiency. You do not want to disappoint them. Remember, in the long run, they are going to compare you with the former leaders to see who did better.
As the Parliament and assembly elections come once every five year, it is healthy to approach elections as something periodic, or an entity of recurrence. They are not the final or the ultimate. Contesting elections are only your options and your life does not depend on them.
Let us remember: Elections are not wars; let us not ‘fight’. The wise people have called elections ‘festival of democracy’. It is a hallmark of our freedom and self-determination. Let us celebrate and enjoy elections as festivals.
Aphu Avia Ngwazah,
Miao