Voting wisely is the need of the hour

Athens in Greece is considered as the birthplace of democracy. Most of the States in the world are governed by democratic systems. There are varying views about the efficacy of this much celebrated system. It is interesting to note that the founding father of Greek philosophy – Socrates – had been hugely pessimistic about the concept of democracy. 

Socrates had pointed out that voting in an election is a skill, not a random intuition. And like any skill, it needs to be taught systematically to people. The great philosopher opined that letting the citizenry vote without an education is as irresponsible as putting them in charge of a large warship sailing to an island amidst a storm.

Do the eccentric islanders, the hoi polloi in particular, have the political and economic literacy to vote intelligently? In 2019, the enthusiastic voters elected a former army colonel with the objective of restoring national security although he was accused of serious wrongdoings apart from his kith and kin having been charged in courts for numerous misdemeanours. Suddenly, it appears a good part of the populace have found a motivation to eradicate corruption though the commoners too are not squeaky clean. 

The empirical evidence suggests that Sri Lankan voters do not appreciate the politicians who were instrumental in introducing and implementing progressive policies. The classic example was the fate of C.W.W. Kannangara, who was considered as the Father of Free Education. He lost his seat Matugama at the 1947 General Election even after having rendered a yeoman service during his 16-year tenure as Education Minister. On the other hand, few politicians, even after having been convicted for murder, had returned to the Parliament. Upeksha Swarnamali, who became instantly popular due to a soap opera, topped the preferential voting list in 2010 and got more votes than Karu Jayasuriya who had experience not only in the private sector but in diplomacy as well.

Whether we like it or not, democracy is based on the will of the majority and does not necessarily recognise the best and the brightest. In the contemporary history, the democracy has resulted in the electoral victories of demagogues in every corner of the world. The former US President Donald Trump is considered as the supreme American demagogue by the US media. Before 2016, there were justifiable concerns as to whether Trump had the required temperament and composure to become commander-in-chief of the most powerful country in the world. Despite such reasonable reservations, the controversial politician emerged the victor. Although Trump comes across as reckless and erratic to any individual with a sensible mind, the erstwhile reality TV program host commands a huge followership among the White, working-class voters in America and he might again end up in the White House this November.

In this modern day and age, the influence of social media in terms of shaping the opinions of voters has increased considerably. Particularly, voters belonging to the Gen Z develop their political views and opinions based on the content they see from YouTube and Facebook. Today, the youth are not fond of reading newspapers or books and spend most of their time on mobile phones. They can be easily deceived by false narratives and disinformation. Do such voters have the capacity to make intelligent and rational decisions at the polling booth?

The last five years have been a period of unprecedented turmoil and disruption for Sri Lankans. The island went through the Easter Sunday bomb attack, COVID-19 pandemic, a crippling political crisis which was marked by violence, as well as an economic crisis of magnitude which people had not experienced before. In such a backdrop, people would be longing for an era which would enable them to get on with their lives without having too much of trouble on their minds. To make it a reality, voters need to be wise at the polling booth.