Click here to return to main Factbook content page

Fact 005
Elections and Voting

WHAT IS VOTING?

Voting is a method of decision making wherein an electorate attempts to gauge its opinion -- usually as a final step following discussions or debates .

In politics, an electorate is the group of people entitled to VOTE in an election .

WHAT IS AN ELECTION?

An election is a decision making process where people choose people to hold official offices. This is the usual mechanism by which modern democracy fills offices in the legislature , sometimes in the executive and judiciary , and for regional and local government . And is the universal acceptance of elections as a tool for selecting representatives in modern democracies. Electoral reform describes the process of introducing fair electoral systems where they are not in place, or improving the fairness or effectiveness of existing systems.

Unfortunately, in Trinidad & Tobago the very electorate who is the nucleus of the political process in a Democratic country is not taken seriously enough by being given the proper tools to elect their government in a fully democratic process so blatantly convenient to politicians who feel they are more powerful when they “Keep Them Guessing” about an election date. PIRG believes the time has come for serious Trinidadian Politicians to seriously present themselves to the people by publicly engaging in Discussions and national DEBATES of the pivotal issues and their impact on voters, and to honestly educate them so they can make informed decisions based on the FACTS presented , further substantiated by potential voter's questioning those presenting themselves for high office. Let voters hear and question the FACTS on fundamental issues distressing them, like Jobs, Health, Education, Housing, Social Security, etc. its time politicians let voters embrace POLITICS as a noble and very indispensable path worthy of the best that the best can offer. Let them not be turned off by its existing sordid state of affairs of disrespect, slander, wild and spurious allegations, stealth, lies, scandal and deceit that is third world politics, including voter buying and voter padding.

The Newsday of Friday August 10 2007 ran the following caption: “PNM ELECTION BLITZ BEGINS”. Further the Prime Minister announced at a public meeting that “AH HAVE THE ELECTION DATE IN MEH BACK POCKET”. Even the eminent Dr. Eric Williams and many other Caribbean politicians would keep their pol itical opponent guessing with remarks like: “ELECTIONS WILL COME LIKE A THEIF IN THE NIGHT”. Cleary, these self serving remarks, while they may fire up the uneducated population then, also shows contemptuous disdain not only for one's political opponent so necessary in the democratic process, but more importantly for the masses now hauled into blind following, neither firm nor confident in who or what they are voting for, what to ask for, or how to negotiate if not demand better living standards etc. They simply had no idea of the fundamental importance of their REQUIRED role as voters.

PIRG also recommends that a General Election, being a very serious procedure affecting the lives of citizens should now be standardize and anticipated on a specific month every FIVE years, and that existing scandals should NOT be beneficial to any one party, more so an incumbent who can call a snap election merely because the existing economic or other unexpected, albeit favorable circumstance may guarantee their win. This cannot be fair elections! Further, even when it appears an incumbent will win, it dissuades potential voters from exercising their inalienable rights of effectively electing their Government to Govern them, and no government should feel comfortable being “voted” into office on a slim majority of under 80% voter participation. People should be motivated to vote knowing who and what they are voting for.

This long overdue decorum and transparency via a national debate on the very social and economic issues affecting voters would catapult not only a better quality of legitimate opposition leaders, but inherently. a higher quality of people participation in the democratic process yielding a greater sense of belonging by a new conscious voter who would have less to complain about.

This way, the incumbent would show greater respect for the necessity of the office of any opposition and its legitimate leader contributing to his government being elected on a platform of an election WELL FOUGHT & WELL WON in the same way high and low depends on each other.

The Chinese philosopher Confucius ( 551 - 471 BCE ) was one of the first thinkers to adopt a distinct approach to political philosophy . His philosophy was "rooted in his belief that a ruler should learn self-discipline, should govern his subjects by his own example, and should treat them with love and concern.". His political beliefs were strongly linked to personal ethics and morality, believing that only a morally upright ruler who possessed "de", or virtue , should be able to exercise power, and that the behavior of an individual ought to be consistent with their rank in society . He stated that "Good government consists in the ruler being a ruler, the minister being a minister, the father being a father, and the son being a son."

Process of voting

Most forms of democracy discern the will of the people by a common voting procedure:

• Individual registration and qualification,
• Opening the Election for a set time period,
• Registration of voters at established voting locations,
• Distribution of ballots with preset candidates, issues, and choices (including the write-in option in some cases),
• Selection of preferred choices (oftentimes in secret, called a secret ballot),
• A fixed voting MONTH every FOUR or FIVE years,
• Secure collection of ballots for unbiased counting, and
• Proclamation of the will of the voters as the will of the people for their government .

Reasons for Voting

In a democracy , voting commonly implies election , i.e. a way for an electorate to select among candidates for office. In politics voting is the method by which the electorate of a democracy appoints representatives in its government .

A vote , or a ballot , is an individual's act of voting, by which he or she express support or preference for a certain motion (e.g. a proposed resolution), a certain candidate, or a certain selection of candidates. A secret ballot , the standard way to protect voters' political privacy , generally takes place at a polling station . (Compare also postal ballot ). The act of voting in most countries is voluntary, however some countries, such as Australia , Belgium and Brazil , have compulsory voting systems.

Though voting is usually recognized as one of the main characteristics of democracy , a country's having an election featuring the populace casting votes does not necessarily mean the country is democratic. Many authoritarian governments have "elections" but the candidates are pre-chosen and approved by elites, there is no competition, voter qualifications are restrictive, and voting is often a sham.

Some people think that whenever votes are recorded in a medium which is invisible to humans, electors lose any possibility to verify how their votes are collected and tallied up to produce the final result, and thus they need to have an absolute faith in the accuracy, honesty and security of the whole electoral apparatus. This is said to be particularly true for electronic elections because, for people who didn't program them, computers act just like black boxes and their operations can truly be verified only by knowing the input and comparing the expected output with the actual output, but under a secret ballot system, there is no known input, nor is there any expected output with which to compare electoral results. On the other hand, this is a problem to some degree with every form of a secret ballot; it is impossible for an individual voter to personally follow the custody or his or her vote once it is placed into the ballot box.

For far too long our Caribbean politicians have been less than honest with its people, virtually keeping them in bondage so as to get into and hold on to office, afraid an EDUCATED VOTER would make it difficult for them to “rule.”

Always remember, an honest politician loves an Educated Voter!