The right to vote is a fundamental principle enshrined in the Constitution of Mauritius. The universal suffrage is taken for granted by Mauritians, especially the new generation. The right to vote was not a gift but it was the fruit of a long and difficult fight.
The right to vote gives the power to the people of Mauritius after 5 years to choose the Member of Parliaments and the Government they want to see in power. The right to vote is a very important tool in a democracy, as the will of the people is expressed through these votes.Unfortunately, in this modern era a lot of Mauritians no longer have an interest in the elections especially the youngsters. The typical sentence used by most Mauritians is ‘1 vote la ki pou changer sa’, indeed one vote will not changed the outcome of the election.
On the other hand, in the recent general election of 2019 in Mauritius in the constituency No. 1 the number of votes separating the third and fourth candidate is 47 votes and in the constituency No.14 where 14,110 valid voting bulletins were counted the difference between the third and fourth candidate is 185 votes. We can clearly see that each vote matters in an election, as there is a small margin between the third and forth candidate in many constituencies.
As I have mentioned above the right to vote was the fruit of a long fight to give every Mauritians the possibility to vote. The right to vote had a property qualification for a long time and this restricted the right to vote which meant the voting power was mainly with the rich and the poor had no right to vote.In 1927, this property qualification has been abolished and replaced by a literacy qualification. The right to vote was granted upon the successful attempt of a literacy test therefore only the educated persons had the right to vote and to decide the fate of the country. At that time only people who were financially stable were able to afford education.
As we can see the right to vote before the universal suffrage was granted, it was available only to a small group of person. This was unfair as only the rich and then the educated person could vote while the other people did not have this fundamental right as a Mauritian. The poor people had no right to decide the fate of their land and it is to be noted that the poor people were the real majority of Mauritus.It is only in 1958, that everybody above the age of 21 could vote, which is known as the universal suffrage. This was the real turning point of our country where everyone was granted the right to participate in the elections. Later this age limit was brought down to18 years old.
The right to vote is what maintains our democracy healthy and efficient. But some youngsters seem to have forgotten the struggle to have the right to vote and the universal suffrage. We should respect this right and the fight that our ancestors fought to give us a better country.The right to vote is usually ignored by lots of people especially many youngsters who do not know that the true power of this right. This is one of the most powerful tool that the people have in a democracy, it is the sword that the people wields to express their will.
I urge all the Mauritians to exercise their right to vote especially youngsters as it is the decision of our future and we had to fight a lot to have the universal sufferage.
Yovesh Gunnoo
Comments
Post a Comment