Exercise franchise judicially on forthcoming election

People are at a quandary to whom they cast their vote and how to elect the most suitable candidate in the upcoming Presidential Election

The reality is that expectations of the people at election campaigns  have never been realised by representatives elected to the Parliament after formation of a Government; not only do they ignore pledges  given, but also conduct themselves quite contrary to expectations to realise their own agendas

Without franchise, it is not possible to activate electing Representatives of the people to the parliament or electing an Executive President according to the provisions set out in the Constitution of Sri Lanka. Article 04 and 04(C) in Chapter 01 of the Constitution of Sri Lanka states “sovereignty is in people… sovereignty includes the power of Government, fundamental rights and the franchise”. 
Based on the results of past elections most of the people do not exercise franchise judiciously on Parliamentary or Presidential Elections. People are at a quandary to whom they cast their vote and how to elect the most suitable candidate in the upcoming Presidential Election
There are several impediments obstructing people from doing this. Some striking factors have been discussed as follows:
Franchise holders have been frustrated over negative impact of agreements, on realisation of their expectations and pledges given by political parties and politicians during election campaigns. 

The reality is that expectations of the people at the election campaigns have never been realised by representatives elected to the parliament after formation of a Government. Not only do they ignore the pledges given, but they also conduct themselves quite contrary to the expectations in order to realize their own agendas.
In that context, people tend to feel franchise is a hollow mechanism which makes zero contribution to realise their expectations. People have a very poor perception of franchises under this situation; although the Constitution states otherwise. This situation reflects the myth of sovereignty in franchise and its ineffectiveness. It is considered as an inherent deficiency in Parliamentary Democracy. This is why some critics of the Parliamentary Democracy have commented that “to resort to vote once in years is not a consolation for empty stomachs”. In that context, the frustration that emerged within franchise holders over the ineffectiveness of permits have paved the way to demotivate themselves using franchise conscientiously and judiciously.
In party politics, franchise holders have no choice but to exercise franchise either in favour of election manifestoes and pledges given by politicians who contest elections or completely refrain from using their franchise. Refrain from casting vote is considered as a suicidal exercise on the part of franchise holder. It serves no purpose other than killing his own right by himself. It is not a solution to the inherent deficiency that emerged within the frame work of party politics activated in election campaigns. However franchise holders could overcome this deficiency if they determine to exercise franchise on their own judiciously independent of undue influence of political parties and politicians. 

The adverse impact of poverty on franchise is considered as another serious obstacle against using franchise judiciously. Those who are suffering from dire poverty, lack of basic needs for living, such as food, shelter, water, clothing, employment etc. would be compelled to trade in their franchise for some trivial material and monetary benefits during election campaigns. People within this category would be compelled to set aside true values of franchise due to challenges triggered by poverty. In that context they are not in a comfortable position to exercise their franchise judiciously. Solution to this deficiency rests within the people themselves on the one hand and those who are trying to seek mean advantage of exploiting this situation during election campaigns. It may be noted that enforcement of election laws set out in this regard seems ineffective. Laws are helpless if people are not in a position to comply with laws.
The syndrome of emotional impulse that emerged in the people due to anger roused against ruling party on various issues such as cost of living, unbearable taxes, etc. blind faith on caste, creed, race, pseudonymous patriotism would also play a vital role to prevent exercising of franchise prudently and effectively. Illiterate masses are inclined to attribute undue prominence to above traits instead of evaluating suitability of the candidate for the position he is contesting for at the election based on his qualifications, experience, competencies, maturity, leadership qualities etc. Solution to the syndrome of emotional impulse falls within the ambit of franchise holders themselves. They should set aside their anger and give up their blind faiths above referred to in lieu of national interest in the name of long overdue unity and integrity of the nation.
Media is another factor which could mislead franchise holders in the process of using franchise. Media is responsible to build up good or bad images as media prefers over politicians mostly by way of making allegations and disseminating of same through media. It may be noted that no credibility could be given to allegations unless those allegations are proved at court of law or at an impartial inquiry conducted in concurrence with judiciary. It is a well-known premise in law that “every person shall be presumed innocent until he/she is proved guilty”. This premise is also recognized as one of the fundamental rights as set out in the Constitution of Sri Lanka Article 13(5) in Chapter 01. 
Allegations leveled against anyone should be evaluated from that point of view. Franchise holders in the process of casting their votes could be misdirected if they take into consideration those allegations as allegations proved at court of law or at impartial inquiry. Solution to this deficiency could be found within the ambit of franchise holders themselves and exclusively at their discretion. Franchise holder should have some political maturity to analyse the credibility of those allegations.

In fact, in the process of casting vote in favour of a particular candidate, comparative evaluation should be made with regard to the true qualifications, experience, competencies, performance, maturity, leadership qualities, his command in international connectivity, honesty and integrity etc. possessed by the candidate concerned. It does not mean that proved allegations should be disregarded in this effort. Proved allegations in respect of any person or candidate should be essentially considered as a black mark in his performance in the domain of politics. In that process no credibility could be given to unproved allegations leveled against the candidate concerned.
Franchise holders cannot use their franchise prudently if they are politically illiterate. Political literacy includes fair knowledge of fundamentals of parliamentary democracy, how to cast vote effectively within that framework for the benefit of the voters themselves and the whole nation not for the benefit of political parties. They should also be knowledgeable enough to foresee what would be the end result of casting his or her vote in favour of a particular candidate (X, Y or Z) without evaluating his or her qualifications, credentials and his suitability for the post or position he is contesting at the election.
Political literacy is a must to evaluate the true intention and practicability behind the election promises given by some prospective candidate at the forthcoming presidential election, such as he/she is the only person who can resolve ongoing crisis in this country etc.
The question is how to motivate masses to get rid of inherent deficiencies they have faced as pointed out above in this article in the process of exercising their franchise such as their feelings and perceptions over hollowness of franchise, impact of poverty, undue influence of political parties, politicians and media, political illiteracy and the impact of their emotional impulse etc. on using their vote. It is not possible for a third party to motivate general masses to get rid of above deficiencies due to the fact that motivation has to be generated from within the masses by themselves. 

However, intelligentsia of the society, mass media and NGOs independent of partial political objectives could play a very vital role in the process of motivating people to get rid of above deficiencies by making and implementation of awareness programs among general masses with regard to above deficiencies. This cannot be done overnight only in the eve of election campaigns. It should be a broad based long term programme which leads to a system change in the process of exercising of franchise on elections.    
The writer is a holder of a BA Spl Degree, University of Ceylon 1967, MBA – SJU, and  Lecturer in HRM and HRD – American College of Higher Studies (2002/2003)