SHOULD VOTING BE MANDATORY?

 

Photo Credit: The guardian Nigeria news

                              

JOHN BUKUNMI

In a democratic society, voting is one of the most powerful tools citizens possess. It is both a right and a responsibility.

Yet, in many countries, voters turnout continues to be low. This raises a vital question: Should voting be made compulsory?

Athenian democracy held that it was every Athenian citizen's duty to participate in decision-making but attendance at the assembly was voluntary. Sometimes, there was some form of social opprobrium for those not participating, particularly if they were engaging in other public activities at the time of the assembly.

From the 19th century onward a relatively small number of democracies have introduced compulsory voting at one time or another. From 1862 to 1998, compulsory voting was enacted in 20 democracies most of which were in Western Europe or Latin America.

Reasons why voting is being made compulsory in some countries are firstly, to capture voters preferences, that is , a system with higher turnout helps to make the electorate more representative and voter suppression more difficult.

This major step towards the universal democratic principle of "one person, one vote" strengthens democracies and aligns the choices of it's politicians with citizens’ preferences. Since lower turnout races are not randomized samples of an electorate, they distort the wishes and power of the voters.

Supporters argue the democratic election of governing representatives is a citizen's responsibility as opposed to a right. Equating in kind to similar civil responsibilities such as taxation, jury duty, compulsory education, voting in these democracies is regarded as one of the duties to community.

By introducing an obligation to vote, all citizens governed by a democracy partake in the responsibility for the government appointed by democratic election.

Whether compulsory voting favours the right or the left is beside the point, because the most beneficial aspect of compulsory voting is that it will improve the caliber of individuals who run for office and the quality of the decisions that they make.

In a compulsory election, it does not pay to energize your base to the exclusion of all other voters since election cannot be determined by turnout, they are decided by swing voters and won in the center.

Conclusively, if voting can be made compulsory in Africa democracies including Nigeria, it will improve citizens’ participation especially among the uneducated masses and reduce the high level of political apathy.