7 Things to consider as a first-time voter

Electing a government is not just about choosing the right representatives but a process in nation-building itself. Every vote counts and your vote can shape the future of this country. This is a quick guide on how to make an unbiased decision about whom to vote for.

Vote for merit

When a CEO of a company or a sports team’s captain is chosen, the decision is based on their previous performance, thought process, vision for the company or team, and suitability for the role. The same should be true for choosing your representative, essentially because your decision would influence the lives of many. You should vote for someone who can not only fulfill your expectations but of your countrymen as well. With great power comes great responsibility and so, give power to someone who understands their responsibility towards the citizens of the country.

Say No to community affiliations

Continuing on the above point, you should vote for merit and against community affiliations. When there is no stronger narrative, people tend to vote for people whose background they can most relate to. But it would be biased and unfair if people win elections just because they belong to a certain community to which the majority can relate. We should elect the most deserving candidates not based on ethnicity, religion, gender, or region. Otherwise, we would be sabotaging our future and I expect the young voters to select people without any prejudice or favouritism.

“May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears”Nelson Mandella

Dive deep and understand objectively

The world is a noisy place. With every party accusing their counterpart, it becomes difficult to distinguish truth from falsehood. Media doesn’t help either, along with the trolling and endless debates on social media. Social media has a strong polarising effect on one way of thinking or the other. I would suggest that as a first-time voter, you distance yourself from all the clamor, and critically think and analyze before forming an opinion. Keep a check on the source of information because it may be biased due to someone’s vested interests or ideological leaning. If possible, refer to the source itself, such as interviews of top leaders and sources of authentic facts. Especially with statistical figures, please ensure the sample size is large enough and the authenticity of data. Politicians and media are experts in not just wordplay but also number play, and so, you as an active citizen should be vigilant.

Vote for a leader

Top leadership is very important for a nation or an organization. One may argue otherwise, but their influence and power are significant enough to enable important outcomes. True leaders shape the organization’s culture, make important decisions, and stand steady in the face of adversity. Leaders unify and drive everyone towards a common vision, and act as a live inspiration. They are the architects, who design the system from assigning the right people at the right places, to forming a strategy envisioning the big picture. A great example would be Mr. Satya Nadella, the current CEO of Microsoft who tuned tables for the company increasing revenue manifolds within his tenure and reviving the culture making him one of the top CEOs in the United States.

“Leadership is not about the next election, it’s about the next generation.”Simon Sinek.

Think long term

Rome was not built in a day, nor can we transform a country in a single tenure. A strong and stable government working across tenures to achieve a long-term vision is what is the need of the hour. Consistent policies help ease of doing business, attract foreign investment, and strengthen the country’s voice internationally. The world is currently undergoing a major economic shift because of emerging technologies, and this opens a rare gate of opportunity that we cannot afford to miss. Your vote would determine if the country would be able to leverage this opportunity successfully and therefore you should consider what kind of country you want to live in during your prime years.

Be bright, and vote for what is right, in the long term.

Vote for the nation

For electing a central government, I believe one should vote considering the nation as a whole and not just one region. It is important to understand that central and state governments have different areas of focus as understood from the state and center list. While the state governments have education, agriculture, and other state-related issues in their purview, the central government has to take care of issues like national security, foreign policy, and nationwide schemes. In the end, the overall development would trickle down to your region as well in the form of a stronger economy as well as a better geopolitical situation. The effects of decisions taken by a central government are long-term, widespread, and large. While voting you should think about how your vote would decide who holds the power at the top.

Vote!

“Every election is determined by the people who show up.”Larry Sabato

Please make time to vote. It is the foundation of our democracy, the largest in the world. With the pen being considered mightier than the sword, Abraham Lincoln considered the ballot to be stronger than the bullet. In the end, I would say elections should be seen as an event celebrating that you are mature enough to be involved in the decision-making process of the country and uphold its democratic spirit.

“Someone struggled for your right to vote. Use it. ”Susan Anthony