Make voting mandatory

Most of the citizens, especially those living in urban areas, don’t give a damn about elections because they never voted before nor do they intend to ever vote.  In fact, most of these people feel that elections are a nuisance.   These people categorically blame the politicians for everything that goes wrong with their lives.   They think all politicians are bad and so for them, it does not make sense to choose one bad over another bad.

My guess is that people who are economically poor vote largely because the local ‘dada’ makes sure that they get out and vote.  These people feel that only if they vote, the ‘dada’ would represent them in time of need.   Most of these people don’t know much about the background of the candidates, and are not capable of deciding as to whom they should vote for.  Either the local ‘dada’ tells them (or dictates them or bribes them) to vote for the party that he belongs to, or, the man of the family tells everyone whom they should vote for.

In case of the rich, these people have ‘connections’ for everything so they don’t feel that they need to ever approach the elected representative for anything, so they don’t find it worthwhile to vote.  Though these people may not need the politicians, they are well educated crowd so they are capable of selecting the best candidate among the contestants.  It is important for this segment of population to vote.

The large middle class are those who are somewhat split.  They are neither in a ‘controlled’ environment like the poor, nor do they have the ‘connections’ of the rich.  Most of these people are somewhat educated enough to select the best candidate based on the contestants’ back ground.  Minor percent of these people believe that it is their duty to vote and so exercise their vote however bad the contestants are.   It is important for the majority who generally do not vote to come out and vote  because these people are capable of choosing the best candidate among the contestants.

I believe that the quality of the elected representative will become better over the years only if the ENTIRE adult population vote.  It is a vicious cycle.  When people consistently vote for the best qualified people (in terms of education, experience, past record, etc.), the politicians would field the best qualified people.  This way, overall, the country becomes better because it is governed by people who are most qualified.

IN ORDER FOR EVERYONE TO COME OUT AND VOTE, I BELIEVE THAT WE NEED TO MAKE VOTING MANDATORY – AT LEAST PARLIAMENT AND ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS.   

Even if this would raise the voting percent from current 50 – 60% to 80 – 90%, we would see a significant improvement in the quality of candidates.