[ad_1]
Joseph R. Biden Jr. will be inaugurated on January 20 as the 46th President of the United States of America. His historic election was made possible in part by electoral forays Democrats have made in the state of Georgia. Georgia last voted for a Democratic president in 1992 (when Bill Clinton defeated George HW Bush). Biden’s recent victory in Georgia is therefore unique as he is the first Democratic president elected by Georgia in nearly three decades.
Not surprisingly, political observers attributed the Democrats’ successes in the recent Georgia presidential and senatorial elections to the work of Stacey Abrams. Abrams founded the New Georgia Project voting rights organization in 2013 to increase voter registration and turnout among communities of color in his home state. In 2018, Abrams was the first black woman to win a Democratic nomination for governor, but lost just 55,000 votes. Amid widespread concern that his loss was the product of voter suppression, Abrams took his initiative nationwide through Fair Fight – a nonprofit dedicated to protecting the right to vote and to fair elections. Abrams’ efforts have visibly paid off with the outcome of the recent presidential and senatorial elections in Georgia.
It is tempting for the average Nigerian elite not to care about politics. My vote doesn’t matter, it’s too confrontational, I don’t want to lose friends because of political opinions etc. are a common justification for such an attitude. In reality, however, politics is too important to ignore. Every aspect of our life is linked to government and politics in one way or another. According to David Foster Wallace “In reality, there is nothing quite like not voting: either you vote by voting, or you vote by staying at home and tacitly doubling the value of the vote of some Diehards.
When Stacy Abrams lost in 2018, she could have been discouraged from participating more in the electoral or even democratic process. On the contrary, she redoubled her efforts to make the system more inclusive for her fellow Georgians and in doing so laid the groundwork for her party’s amazing gains in Georgia. According to her, “In 2019, I met all the main candidates who were running for president and I had two messages, one, the suppression of voters is real and that is one of the reasons why lost across the country. But secondly, Georgia is a competitive state and it would be professional misconduct not to pay attention to it. Fortunately, these two messages have been transmitted.
Abrams took an evidence-based approach to identifying challenges in bringing about democratic change, and with insight into big data, Abrams and his team applied solutions that worked. This is the kind of real work that is often required for real change by the democratic process. In other words, the Nigerian elite must lead by example. Words alone are not enough; get your voter card (or regularize it if necessary) encourage someone around you to do the same; engage your local representative on some of the issues affecting your community; keep them on their campaign promises, etc.
Media reports that Abrams and his campaign manager, Lauren Groh-Wargo, wrote an influential 16-page document in September 2019 detailing trends in the state that could help Democrats. The report noted, among other things, that recent arrivals to the state had overwhelmingly distorted Democrats in recent years. “Voters of all races who had lived in Georgia for less than 10 years voted for Stacey Abrams by a whopping 30 points, 65% to 35%, according to a CNN exit poll,” the report said. “Every person who moves to Georgia and votes is almost twice as likely to vote a Democrat as a Republican.”
The report also said that “the share of whites in the electorate has steadily declined” and that “the share of African-Americans has increased dramatically,” had the share of other voters of color and those who refused to disclose. their race. “In Georgia, as in other states, running is often the best predictor of political leanings, which means effective engagement of voters of color, increased participation of white democratically-inclined voters, and high turnout. overall could tip the balance, ”the report noted.
Abrams’ work in Georgia is proof of what is achievable even through individual efforts, once the stakes are clear and the resolve is to help bring about democratic change in our communities.
In Nigeria, we meet too often on major social media platforms to complain about the ever-deteriorating leadership failures in Nigeria. These online engagements are sometimes meaningless gossip, with no potential for real political change. Too few of us are ready to take concrete steps to bring about real democratic change in our communities. We assume that by constantly hurling insults at politicians and offering only words of condemnation for the Nigerian electoral system, we will create enough disaffection in electorates towards incumbents to make them choose our favorite candidates. This approach, however, only ends up creating voter apathy.
Politics is a powerful social construct; it influences everyone’s life and often, in a very profound way. Society and life are shaped by decisions made by elected officials. Laws, prices, to name a few, are or have been influenced in some way by the political spectrum. In today’s society, it is imperative that each of us stay abreast of what is happening in the political world and act democratically.
We all need to do our part to change the world for the better. To overcome our problems as a society, we must all do our fair share. An easy way to better understand the problems in your community and observe potential solutions is to get involved or volunteer in different activities. This will allow you to better understand your surroundings and give you realistic expectations regarding your political leadership.
Voting is the most important tool in a democracy and many people take it for granted. Direct citizen participation remains the simple solution against declining voter turnout, increasing disengagement of citizens from politics and political organizations as well as growing mistrust of political institutions and politicians.
Nigeria’s population is young and growing rapidly. According to the UN, it is expected to be the third most populous country in the world by 2050 with 400 million inhabitants. More than half of all voters (51.1%) are between 18 and 35 years old, according to INEC. Nigeria’s general election regularly sees a below-average turnout, despite the frenetic pace of online engagement in the Nigerian social media space. Low voter turnout is not beneficial to the quest for credible elections and strengthening Nigeria’s democratic structures, primarily because it creates loopholes for politicians to creatively redistribute unused votes to their advantage.
Voting and elections are virtuous characteristics of a modern democratic society. To appreciate the link between voting and election, eligible voters must be informed and made aware of their rights and obligations, the modus operandi of the electoral process, the informed and non-prejudicial choices they make during an election, between other. This is commonly referred to as “voter education”. By educating voters, they will participate meaningfully in elections; and turnout will also increase, thus providing a framework to protect, support and institutionalize a culture of credible elections and popular participation in governance.
Michael Dugeri is a lawyer based in Lagos State.
Source link
