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An aura of euphoria enveloped the entire country. Slogans rifled through the air. Chants of “free Senior High School now” were hardly out of ear shot. Accra was awash with political party paraphernalia and gigantic billboards lined the sides of major streets. The electronic and print media were flooded with political advertisements and commercials. This was the atmosphere in which I prepared to exercise my franchise for the very first time.
Naturally, I was also caught up in the flurry of excitement. I found myself unconsciously singing some of the popular campaign jingles occasionally. Indeed, my boarding school community also swirled in the political whirlpool. In every hallway, pockets of students could be seen debating the merits of the policies some of the presidential aspirants promised. As usual, I was at the center of the debate. Specifically, I argued in favor of a landmark policy which was aimed at making senior high school education completely free in Ghana’s high schools.
Unfortunately, in most of these sporadic arguments, I could single-handedly be arguing against as many as five of my colleagues who believed that this policy was misplaced.
Armed with the necessary information however, I stood up to the challenge. It was a very fulfilling experience knowing that I was able to convince most of the people I argued with in the aftermath of our heated debates. Soon, any student who wanted information on this proposed policy was directed to me. This was a very enthralling experience; I had the opportunity of standing up for the ideas I believed in while simultaneously educating my peers on the same ideas.
My electoral experience did not end at that juncture.
The next step was turning up to vote for the party I believed in. Waking up very early on voting day, I made my way to my polling station. After two hours of waiting, I made my way to the voting booth. Carefully, I dipped my thumb into the ink and placed it in the box next to my preferred candidate. I must confess the thought of contributing to my country’s blossoming democratic process as a first time voter was very moving.
When the polls ended, I made my way to the polling station to join in the counting. This was in accordance with two personal values of mine; fairness and justice. It is my candid opinion, that every electoral process be fair to all parties concerned. It was in furtherance of these personal principles that I joined in the counting process which took almost four hours. Trust me- I was present until the very last vote was counted and tallied.
As a proponent of democracy, I believe that the right to free speech and the right to vote are absolutely essential. In the run up to the elections, I had the opportunity of arguing for the ideas I believed in and on the Election Day, my voice was heard. The experience of exercising these rights together for the first time was indeed very exhilarating.
The experience I just elaborated on was my first involvement in political activism. I believe that to make a change on the African continent we must first interrogate the plight of the African continent in debates like the one I held with my friends in the run up to the elections. In addition, in taking a critical look at the continent’s woes, we should eliminate the negatives and hold on to the positives. We should not depart from our core African values which include respect for authority and justice. We should make a conscious effort to safeguard these values. Indeed, with regards to our principles we should be adamant and our inertia should remain unparalleled because these core values define us as a people.
Finally, I believe that meaningful change can only be achieved on the continent once it has been achieved in the mindset first. To make a change, we, the proponents, the youth, should try to change our own mindset, we should shake off the shackles most African societies place on the youth.
JUDE ASARE
Policing the Ballot
Jude is a senior editor at Butterfly Africa.