How many of us will choose a candidate based on the program of their political party? How many of us will actually read the parties’ programs?

Most of us believe that the programs are all the same. They all claim that healthcare, education, justice, public service, and the fight against corruption are their top priorities. We also tend to believe that political parties themselves do not truly believe in these programs and use them merely as part of their electoral decoration.

The government and political parties know very well that we neither read nor trust the documents they distribute. Yet they continue to waste public money printing millions of colorful leaflets and brochures.

Electoral competition is not really about political programs; it is about people. The focus on personalities exists not only in the minds of voters but also in the minds of political parties. Why, for example, would Abdelouahed Radi add another five years to more than fifty years of representing his region? Is he the only person in that area capable of implementing his party’s program? Has the party failed, after fifty-five years, to prepare anyone else to take over?

The only logical definition of freedom is that a servant should occasionally be able to change masters. What kind of freedom exists when the same leader remains in power for more than two terms?

In reality, there are neither genuine programs nor ideologies. What really exists are networks, alliances, interest groups, and individuals who cooperate and advance on the backs of the poor. That is why they love the poor. And because they need them, they produce more of them every year.

In their election campaigns, they claim to be fighting poverty. We, however, tell them: “Leave poverty alone! If you are truly brave, then fight the rich instead.”

Dear readers, you should read political programs, vote, and take part in democracy. Without it, many brokers and opportunists would risk going hungry.

Be responsible citizens: read the programs and choose your candidate. As for me, I never stop doing so. Every day, I choose a candidate, and sometimes even three. But on election day, who really knows whom I choose? That is precisely why the voting booth was invented.

Strange, isn’t it? In the past, people hid only when they were stealing. Today, when stealing has become fashionable and is often done openly, the only time we still hide is when we vote.

 

By Jeloul – 2011