This election, be a wise voter for a better Meghalaya

“In a violent society, silence is violent: in an unjust society, silence is injustice: so even if you are a silent type, who has nothing to do with politics, you are still a politician because, in your silence and indifference, you are siding with the oppressors and exploiters. You are allowing corruption to happen. To be or not to be a politician is not the question. The question is, ‘which side are you’?” ~ AJ Veliath, UNICEF Officer in New Delhi in 2006.

The coming General Elections in Meghalaya is a festival of celebrating democracy and all eligible electors have been requested to exercise their constitutional rights with responsibility and without being coaxed and bribed by anyone. The state will go to the polls in the third or last week of February this year and the new government will have to be sworn in before March 6. This general election 2023 will be to elect 60 MLAs to the Twelfth House of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly.

This exercise is extremely important and the stake here is very high. If the 21.65 lakh voters of Meghalaya elect an unstable, coalition, corrupt and wicked government as they have done in 2018, then the citizens are doomed for the next five years or beyond. What is worrying all of us is that there are still many voters out there who love to go to vote because of freebies, including hard cash, oblivious of the results that bring about from such irresponsible franchise. But hopefully, a flicker of hope may be there.

There are others who love to vote once in five years because it is the opportunity for them to vote for some MLAs who can deliver the goods and the much-needed change in their respective constituencies.

As the elections are just a month away, hectic preparations are already on for the chief electoral officer of Meghalaya, Fredrick R Kharkongor, and his subordinates to ensure that everything is well-prepared and laid out in detail.

Equally hectic exercises have been undertaken by various political parties in the state to meticulously select their candidates to ensure that they come out victorious. However, the greatest headache is of the candidates, including independents, who have already toiled day and night and will waste no time in the next 42 days or so by employing every strategy and tactic, including illegal might and resources, to ensure their victories.

What is more important in all these is for the voters to do their homework from now and not at the last moment before going to cast their votes. Know your candidates well, use your knowledge well and be judicious. Weigh them carefully not by sentiments and instincts but by reasoning, and most of all not by freebies or by kith and kin or religion or community but purely by merit, integrity and the fear of God.

‘Elect people (Candidates) who are capable, God-fearing, trustworthy, blameless and free from corruption,’ ~ Exodus,19: 21- 22.

Again, I will bring in another quotation that I consider appropriate in this context — “A country (state) is in trouble when its king (head of state) is a youth (not matured) and its leaders (MLAs) feast all night long. But a country (state) is fortunate to have a king who makes his own decisions and leaders who eat at a proper time, who control themselves and don’t get drunk (indulged in immorality and corruption),” ~ Ecclesiastes 10:16-17). “By justice, a king gives stability to the land (Meghalaya), but one who exacts gifts (indulges in corruption) ruins it,” ~ Proverbs 29: 4.

Voters should be wary of candidates who do not work and parties that encouraged corruption. Candidates who will abuse their precious powers as public representatives and as legislators who utilise their positions for enriching themselves while the state runs dry should be rejected. Who do the poor and the marginalised turn to? Do you think that the rich, the MLAs, MPs and MDCs will look after their needs? Why many families became landless and all landed properties have been cornered by the few rich people? Why are there so many unemployed youths in the state? Why and where has the state gone wrong? Is it because we voters have allowed corruption for too long to breed everywhere? Voters must ponder on these questions.

There are also other actors in the government who caused this evil to thrive but if the electors and the elected are clean, much of the problem is solved and Meghalaya, being a majority Christian state, becomes much better if not spotlessly clean.

Now, we have come to a point that if we want to see the change we all desire to have let us all, we the 21.65 odd lakhs turn our eyes and hearts to God Almighty through whom everything is possible. Let us allow God to play a pivotal role to clean the political system right from the elections process, into the Assembly and in Governance. For those who want to be MLAs, let them carry on their responsibilities with dignity and honesty to the best of their abilities and justice should prevail over them. Let us also hope and pray that after the 2023 elections, Meghalaya will have better quality, more responsible and accountable MLAs and an excellent governance system and not the corrupted ones that we had in the last five years.