Are we Ready to Vote?
As the election time approaches, have we really thought about the importance of our votes? How well do we know the candidates? Or better yet, what is the electoral system or how it works? Have we really asked ourselves, “are we ready to vote?”
To answer those questions, projects aimed at voter’s education have been given much more attention. The partylists Kabataan and Akbayan and the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) have made various actions to help step-up voter’s education.
One of the major projects of Comelec this year was the launching of their website www.bagong botante.com which offers information and assistance to voters especially to those newly registered. The Kabataan and Akbayan Partylist also have a similar project to Comelec. Their only difference is they also campaign for their candidates through their site.
Although the internet seems like the best way to connect with the youth today, not all have access to it. Other groups like the Visayas Human Development Agency (VIHDA), Youth Volunteers for Orderly and Transparent Elections (YouthVOTE) and the Cebu Citizens Involvement and Maturation in People’s empowerment and Liberation (C-CIMPEL), have engaged in various activities in the community to help voters answer their questions and realize the value of their vote. But unlike Comelec and the partylists, they do not have online projects.
Among the three, only C-CIMPEL, a church-based political education NGO in between elections, works on voter’s education all year round. According to Ms. Dottie Maglasang, C-Cimpel works in “helping the people to choose” the right candidates. By organizing seminars, workshops and assistance, they are not only helping out the public in participating in the political decision-making, but also in the broader areas of governance during in-between elections.
They chose not to have an online version of their organization because they focus more on an interactive way of helping the public. They encourage the people to choose to move from patronage politics to a more participative politics, and to be more “aware of the importance of the elections vis-à-vis good governance”.
Although the internet is very widespread now, not everybody has complete access to it and sometimes it is not enough to simply read what you want to know. In this coming elections, let us all remember that who we will vote is very important since our future lies in their hands. Through the help of organizations like C-Cimpel, people will learn how valuable and powerful even a single vote is. To ensure the success of the 2007 elections, we must be equipped with the right knowledge to decide who we want to choose as our new leaders.
