2014 Election | Interrobang

L’election Parlementaire

Nate Razafindrabe, Student Journalist

Barton Community College

Great Bend, Kan.

Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choices

are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy,

therefore, is education.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Democracy goes back to the 5th century BC. The Athenians believed in

a structural organization elected to lead the country, and thus democracy

was born, re-emerging in the 17th century. The democratic philosophy

as well as the democratic government style is now widely accepted in

several countries around the globe. The right to vote is one of the pillars of democracy. As a result, elections are well organized in democratic societies.

What would seem obvious but, then again, quite surprising, is that democracy has been adopted by powerful countries as well as by less developed countries. Elections are now underway in the United States. On the other side of the globe, Madagascar completed their elections months ago.

The philosophy behind elections is universal but the process of campaigning and voting can vary. Madagascar is divided into 22 provinces. The division of power is present only at the level of cities and municipalities. Madagascar obtained its independence in 1960. Since then the citizens of Madagascar have been legally able to vote without restriction. Citizens living in the cities have no roadblocks to their voting process, but still a huge majority of citizens don’t vote. The whole process of voting is confusing to a part of the population living in the countryside. Another part chooses not to vote. Most of those who are voting are those who do not have any political knowledge, which can lead to results that do not accurately reflect the desires of the citizenry.

Voter registration in the United States can be done via internet. The paper form is available as well. Though the process is quite straight forward, there are still some controversies regarding same day registration in some states. Kansas residents may register to vote in the upcoming November 4th election through Tuesday, October 14, 2014.

What is surprising is that it was only in 1965 that President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, “permanently barring barriers to political participation by racial and ethnic minorities, prohibiting any election practice that denies the right to vote on account of race, and requiring jurisdictions with a history of discrimination in voting to get federal approval for changes in their election laws before they can take effect.”

According to U.S. Census bureau, 58% of voting-age population voted in 2012. What did the other 42% do on Election Day?

Elections are the most fundamental base of democracy. Currently an elected official is only truly nominated by 25% of the whole population. Dictatorship is the consequence exercised by few, while the majority remain silent.

Aung San Suu Kyi once said “Freedom and democracy are dreams you never give up.” But then again, Plato said “Dictatorship naturally arises out of democracy, and the most aggravated form of tyranny and slavery out of the most extreme liberty.”