Nimba Decides April 22: My Kind Of Perspective Of The Politicians And The Electorates
By David K. Dahn
The Nimba senatorial by-election has placed a spotlight once again on the quality of politicians and the kind of electorates expected to participate.
Nimba possesses a hefty voting population therefore an election in that part of the country runs a woven thread through the major political parties in the country. Ahead of the 2029 general and presidential elections in the country , the senatorial by-election forms a test case for the political future of candidates and their affiliated parties.
But what are the qualities of the participating politicians and what kind of electorates are being placed under the microscopes? The search for the response is on.
The Political Leaders(Candidates) : Who should they be?
The success of a vibrant political entity is built upon the backs of great political leaders. I would expect that the quality of a candidate’s accrued votes run parallel to the quality of messages sent out. In a more crucial political race like the one in Nimba, one would expect the political leaders to speak to the consciences of the electorates. It is also assumed that the leaders(candidates) fully understand the context of the current political race. As candidates, it is anticipated that they will be able to do what a professor of strategy, Michael Handel(2001:62) calls a tendency to lift ideas out of context. As each campaign message now inches into victory in favor of any of the contenders, the following characters must guide such victory:
Courage to withstand the fear of losing and therefore candidates should not be frightened by the presence of another candidate. Another virtue to take into any political race is internal fortitude or the strength to keep moving on until reaching the dead end of the process. It is expected the candidates will sway voters into their favor by demonstrating the ability to communicate effectively to their constituencies. Coming from the background of communication, it is my opinion that messages from political leaders(candidates) will take into account the kind of audience being addressed, how clear and to the point is the message and how understood is your message as you intended it to be. It is further important that candidates have knowledge of the “game of politics” before entering it rather than relying merely on chance that the ‘lot’ will fall your way. Another crucial virtue to consider when entering a political race is to do self evaluation- what are your reference trails? are you a person of integrity? Your past will haunt you, your present will define you and are you honest in your dealings even if it’s difficult? Over the years have you aligned your conduct with what you consciously know to be upright? And is your desire to seek a political office driven by a clear vision accompanied by the power to implement said vision?
To The Electorates:
Now, let me remind the electorates that politicians have inducement powers and they are shrewd(clever) in raising your expectations which are often not met. Don’t forget that expectation forms quickly but changes slowly along the way. So watch out and never be politically ignorant of this. History has reminded us that the preferences of politicians are often shifted. You are challenged to pay keen attention to the fact that when you cast your vote for a politician who is ideologically void, it hinders the quality of constituency representation. Therefore, seek knowledge about the candidates’ position on key issues of policy interest before you translate your preferences into partisan opinion or vote choices.
As Nimba decides on Tuesday, April 22, I have always wonder why is it that the same crowd follows all the candidates at different political rallies? What messages are driving the electorates to those rallies? After a search, I realize that the crowd follows in exchange for three kinds of incentives. The first is material incentive which comes in the form of monetary value or the incentive can be translated into jobs and other assignment for prestige if not for pay. The second incentive anticipated from politicians for which crowd follows them is solidarity incentive which is intangible. People from the crowd want their community recognized after the victory siren is blown in favor of a candidate. The community wants to say to the winner “we made you, so remember our community development.” Another form of solidarity incentive is through socializing. Members of the crowd want to rub shoulders with important people, want to place calls to important people, want to place their requests before important people. The third kind of incentive which unfortunately is very latent (hidden) in our political discourse is the purposive incentive. This kind of incentive pays off in policy. You support a party or work hard to elect a candidate who will be committed to pushing policies that will work in favor of the people rather than promising hand pump or market stalls and dedicate it as “state of the art….”. What policy messages are the candidates putting forth for which they should win your votes? I am talking about, say, drafting strong anti-drug law, drafting policy on student loan, drafting policy on reduction in the number of years for elected officials, drafting policy that bars a person convicted of corruption in the public space from reappointment, drafting policy on automatically expelling from the public space an official who intentional lies under oath( whether on credential, or makes any form of false declaration for unfair advantages, etc)
I am closing on these words from Machiavelli’s work, “The Discourses”, as quoted by Hendel (2001:199) saying, Electorates too, have to avoid the act of forcing politicians to give promises when seeking their votes because promises given under the pressure of force, will always be disregarded when the force no longer exists. I leave it with You!
