Selecting Good Grains

Campaigns for the upcoming Municipal and Legislative elections of 30 September are on in earnest.

The content of the messages being churned out of the political template by the various party leaders only vary by way of synonyms. Everyone on the field is sounding sanguine about victory come polling day. The difference is only at the level of the choice of words used to convince the voter.

Yet, the stack truth is that not everybody can win, let alone dreaming that all what is being promised can be delivered. Therein lays the role of power broker on Election Day.

The apparent courtship between politicians and the voters being displayed with exuberance and fanfare seen in party rallies, the exchange of gifts and civilities ought to last beyond elections only if the campaign promises are met. That means a follow up by those who win election to ensure that they deliver on the pledges. For such a play to come true those campaigning today must be those who have the means and the will power to make good their own side of the bargain after they must have been voted.

However, knowing who to trust on Election Day may not be such an easy task, especially for those who want to stay lucid and weed out the grass leaving the good grains to grow. Taking such a clear decision when there are 43 competitors on the starting line can be onerous. Not only are some of the voters not sufficiently aware of the choices to make, but they are often subject to deceit and duplicity by people who purport to work for the common good. That makes the electors, at times with the wrong option which may impact on the entire community and the nation as a whole.

Thus, proverbial qualifiers such as fruit-bearing trees, moribund or sterile promises, informed choices and many others coming out of politicians these days need to be thoroughly screened by voters. Yet, that too is democracy. That is, having the opportunity to judge from the many offers that political parties announce at this point in time.

In actual fact, given that the election is about voting into office those who are expected to work with communities at the local level, the decision ought to be simply for voters. In order to decide on whom to vote for come 30 September 2013, the electors ought to simple think of what they need most and who has the profile and capacity to keep to the terms of their agreement during the campaigns.

Another positive note is that with over 20 years of multiparty democracy in Cameroon, the number of political parties is not only growing narrower and easier for the voters to discern who is who, but the attitude of a majority of Cameroonians speaks of a people who are ready to accommodate the challenges of political pluralism. That could be a building block on which politicians can design their campaign messages, knowing that those being called to vote in the next few days must be given the right instruments to make informed choices in front of the ballot box.