Do Not Underestimate The Power Of Your GE2020 Vote

[Disclaimer: Not advocating for any political party. Just wanted to raise certain issues that tend to be unconsciously overlooked regarding voting and politics in Singapore, especially if you are a first-time voter.]

GE2020 Nomination Day is finally here.

In light of all the devastating events that happened in 2020, and after all the speculation over when GE2020 would occur, polling day was finally announced to be on 10th July. Successfully nominated candidates will be allowed to campaign, albeit virtually, from now till cooling off day.

The election this year is nonetheless shaping up to become arguably the most important and consequential one in this coming decade. With game-changing issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic, an accelerating climate change crisis and an increasingly volatile and unstable international landscape, the political parties vying for seats in our Parliament face a larger and more urgent slate of issues, with an even greater need to prove their worth and capabilities to efficiently tackle them.

For many first-time voters like myself, we are now given an opportunity to showcase our voice to the government in one of the most powerful ways possible – the power to vote.

This is why I’m penning down this article, in the hopes of convincing first-time voters to treat this election as seriously as possible, much like how you would rush down to purchase bubble tea the moment you realised that they were once again available (let’s face it, our generation just can’t get enough of that cup of sweet goodness). Think about these considerations as you watch the campaign rallies in the next few days (I hope you do!) and settle on your desired candidate for your constituency.

Keep Yourself Updated And Have An Independent Mind

Source: Roman Kraft

More often than not, your friends and family members will engage in healthy political discourse and discussions over mealtimes, especially in the lead-up towards GE2020. If you are not someone who is usually inclined to read up on current affairs, you would tend to stay silent during these conversations.

To avoid any awkward silences or merely a shrug of your shoulders when they ask for your opinions, why not spend a good 15 minutes everyday just to keep abreast on our current state of politics? You literally just need to do a simple Google search to be updated on the happenings in our local political landscape. It’s that easy!

This will not only allow you to portray yourself as a knowledgeable intellect about local politics, but also inevitably allows you to actively engage in meaningful debates and understand what issues your loved ones hold the closest to their hearts.

Engaging in healthy discourse is all good and beneficial as it serves to broaden your perspective for certain issues that you may not have thought about. However, having an independent mind is likewise important as well. You should not allow the viewpoints of people around you to easily influence the core values that you have held dearly since young.

Of course, I’m not telling you to ignore your friend’s political opinions, but just take it with a pinch of salt. Don’t be so easily influenced to the point that you immediately shift your opinions based on what you hear. If you agree, nod your head and take that into consideration. If you disagree, respectfully tell them so. Afterwards, form your own perspectives without all the conflicting voices around you, and make your final decision based solely on your own viewpoints.

Candidates or Parties?

Source: Element5 Digital

Should I make my decision based on the performance of individual candidates fielded in my constituency, or based on their party affiliations? This is a common dilemma that I foresee myself struggling with as well. Arguably, assessing individual candidates should be the ideal choice because different candidates within their own political parties may emphasise different issues due to their respective areas of expertise.

For example, Candidate A contesting in your constituency may strive to put a bigger emphasis on the issue of empowering small business owners. However, his party may not that be as vocal in that particular goal as Candidate A is because they prefer to focus on other issues like healthcare-related matters in the midst of COVID-19. But because of the steadfast dedication that Candidate A has towards his goal and the fact that you run a small business in your constituency, you can trust him to draft bills related to the issue so that it will be brought up in Parliament.

Moreover, we often make our decisions with a mixture of emotions and logic. Attending a wide range of virtual rallies in your constituency will offer an accurate impression of individual candidates. Did you have a positive impression after watching them speak? Would you feel comfortable approaching them if you had any pressing issues? And most importantly, do you feel confident that they will live up to their words and act on their campaign promises?

Do not hesitate to ask yourself these questions. After all, they are elected to represent us in Parliament and we hold the greatest power at the ballot box.

Single-Issue or Multi-Issue?

Source: Markus Spiske

I’m sure we all have that one single issue that we’re the most concerned about, among many others. Personally, I am the most concerned about environmental issues and climate change, and any political candidate that puts environmental sustainability front and center in their campaign manifesto automatically wins half the battle to get my vote.

However, we should not be single-issue voters. Becoming a single-issue voter threatens to eclipse many other equally important issues that will directly impact us.

This is not a call to disregard the issue that we are so passionate about, but a call to seriously consider the implications of disregarding every other issue that may be paramount to our well-being in society. Every single issue is largely inter-linked with each other, and the lack of attention to one of them will often result in a negative impact on another. Worse still, the effects of putting the issue to the backbench may not even be felt now, but its consequences will definitely be multiplied several folds and felt by future generations. Would you really want your future children to suffer?

Therefore, even though it may be tempting at first to vote based on single issues, we must instead consciously work towards creating a collective voice to draw more attention to a wide range of issues that will have a larger impact on our society.

What Now?

Source: Cottonbro

We are all living in unprecedented times. Our generation has never before seen such a drastic intersection of calamities in our lifetime. COVID-19, a devastating job market, a looming economic recession, accelerating climate change, an increasingly unstable international stage and the list goes on and on…

It is now more important than ever to elect the next leaders of our government that will best represent our views to Parliament. As we work hand-in-hand together to recover from this crisis and move forward as a nation, the decisions that they (and we) make within the next 5 years have the ability to shape Singapore’s future drastically.

Do not take elections lightly. We may feel that our votes don’t matter, but collectively as Singaporeans, our votes will indeed make a huge difference.