Sadikur Sadik :
Democracy is often said to mean ‘rule by the people.
According to Britannica ”Democracy is a system of government in which laws, policies, leadership, and major undertakings of a state or other polity are directly or indirectly decided by the “people”.
Election is the only method to establish a democratic government.
In the absence of free and fair elections, modern democracy loses its meaning, spirit, and substance which is known to all. In the election, the people of the region vote for their favourite person.
Constitutionally, we the people of Bangladesh are the ultimate decision-makers of the laws, policies, leadership, and major undertakings of a state or other polity.
According to the constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, the election would be the way of choosing their favorite people’s representative so that they can choose who will lead and serve them.
After being elected by the support of the majority of the people in a certain area, they become the spokesman on behalf of the people.
From our certain election area, our elected parliament member leads on behalf of the people of the area.
National elections are held every five years to give the chance to select the right person for the right position.
A fair and free election indicates the regime of the people which was the fundamental demand of the Liberation War of 1971 against West Pakistan.
A free, fair, and participatory election is the key requirement for future political stability and the development of the standard of living.
This kind of election also contributes to the fundamental responsibility of the state to attain, through planned economic growth, a constant increase of productive forces.
The members of parliament who are elected by the citizens of this country are not only the representatives of the people; they also get the power to make laws, form the rules and regulations for the welfare of the nation of Bangladesh. They coordinate all the allocation of resources of the state among all the people of the country.
We choose the lawmakers through the election process.
We are directly or indirectly involved in this law-making process. This lawmaker’s contribution determines our national progress with quality. The members of parliament lead the nation in every direction and dimension.
Unfortunately, we are facing the harsh reality of the elected members of parliament’s contribution as they are committed to do after the election. The election candidate shows their dual character before the election and after the election.
Before the election, they become pious and try to prove themselves honest and well-wishers of the people.
They beg vote from the people by going door to door to get the chance to serve them.
They spend money for election campaigns and they spend money for the common people who are not aware of the actual character of the candidate.
Money is the most significant factor that makes them agree to vote for the candidate.
They become so close to the poor people and they convince them to vote through an election which is supposed to be held soon.
The Bengalis are very emotional, they become very much convinced easily so the candidate knows how easy to convince them.
But after winning the election the election winner becomes powerful and ignores the activities mentioned above for which they are responsible.
They forget those oaths and their responsibility to the people.
When they become parliament members or the representatives of their people, they have the advantage of being that. They use government opportunities for their own business.
They forget those who make them elected in the election and make them the representatives as well as parliament members.
Here we, the country’s common people, are responsible for the elected person’s act because of electing him by voting in an election and we can’t avoid this responsibility.
We know the person who would be the better election candidate because he or she was in our territory.
It’s a matter of sorrow that we prefer a candidate who is wealthy, and who has muscle power in the political field without judging their honesty, moral values, education, and past activities.
This is one of the major reasons for choosing an inappropriate candidate in the election.
Through winning the election, the person gets the power to do all activities that may be good or bad.
Most dishonest people do injustice, evil acts, abuse of power, and many more things for their interests.
They become wealthier after becoming a member of parliament, and nepotism creates injustice and inequality in the case of getting the right as a citizen of the country.
We have to choose a people’s representative aiming for the betterment of the future generation of the country not attracted by the temptation of the dishonest and disguised candidate for some days before the election.
We should be very careful about the power of ballot paper in elections which is considered more powerful than bullets.
On the day of the election, every single person gets the chance to checkmate the wrong person in the right way.
We have to have a clear conception of the question about whom to vote for and why to vote in the election.
If we ask these two questions to ourselves, our conscious mind will answer easily.
If we ignore this power of voting rights and sell it to the corrupted and inappropriate candidate for a little benefit, we have to suffer the worst effect of voting for the wrong person for a long time.
(The writer is a student of Islamic University, Kushtia. Email: [email protected])