The Mauritian Electorate's Ignorance

What saddens me about this Mauritian Political arena is that it in no way resembles a political arena- perhaps the fault lies in me, perhaps it’s that I got all the concept of politics wrong.

But then, trying to stand straight all over again, I tried to grasp the real meaning of politics through some intense reading.

And I must say I have come to one conclusion,

Politics In Mauritius is about people, not ideas.

Ask any Mauritian if they understand the concept of socialism, of liberalism, of conservationalists…LOL.. It would not ring a bell. Ask about the what X's political dynasty did for them, and they speak like a waterfall.

Who’s interested in the manifesto? And even if we were, everything sensical and note-worthy news go drowning into the ocean of dirty, and useless not so political news- but rather political gossips and happenings. I am not here to discuss events, I’m here to discuss ideas. But apparently the rest of the homo sapiens of this island are not very keen on doing just that. (Again, I'm not generalizing. But the intelligent silent mass of people never speak up. :/ )

And even when the manifesto is out, the first thing that grabbed the attention and was a sure hit fire- the old age pension. I mean- is it all it takes to make sensationalism prime? Fine, I admit, there is this need to increase the pension scheme of elders and improve their standard of living.. But what my friends and I are afraid of- yes, teenage people discuss politics in tuition and at school- just in case some bigoted minds thought otherwise-what we are truly afraid of is this mass of an already ageing population going to vote just for that! Basically votes registered come for most of the time from people who are looking forward to a pension it would seem- so they are obviously going to vote for their own present. But where does our future go In that? The youth’s future? 

What we feel deprived of is a method to express our needs! Our sentiments Those pensioners are going to get their pensions and ultimately face the reality of life and pass away- they won’t exist in the future. But we have a future to look after..
Moreover, there is a very low 18-24 year old percentage of eligible voters who exercise their rights, leaving the grass open to the elders. Do you realise what this means!? It totally means that the majority of voters will be choosing to flourish their own present instead of looking after your future and securing it. Young voters, think about it! 

Nobody is ever going to tell you these things. We are an ageing population, one where the youth are heavily marginalised.

I also feel like there is this lack of education conducted by the mass media which has successfully been able to embed itself in the social and daily lives of Mauritians- I barely see articles under the tag: Top 10 Things Voters Should Know for Election Day or something of the sort.

Oh- but yes, they know about the Virer MAM, the Tear gas explosion or the rumoured failing of a politicians fake teeth in a Congress Meeting. Yes- They know about the rumours , the gossips, the subsidies given to the religious associations,

An d for sure, they know which priest supported this or that party.. even if the priest speak nonsense at times, going even to extent of making communal comments subtlety.

But how many Mauritians are truly being educated ? You know?! The Voter’s education? Ever heard of that? Does not the electoral commission have a fair share of responsibility in that? But of course this is not India, this is Mauritian, a country where the electoral commission, the ministry of Information and broadcasting- Ooopss we don’t have that one even, are all governed by the government- obviously it is a government if it would not govern then what would it do!?

Everyone knows which minister has been driven away from his own constituency…

 And I'll make it a must to point out my age- perhaps I just talked nonsense all along the way, but that doesn't matter to me.

What matters is that when I was 13, I wish a teenager wrote about politics to further fuel my love for it. I wish that by writing and trying to reach out, that teenager would have been able to somehow validate my interest in politics. because the world around me has stifled my interest in it. Too much. And no I'm not talking about my parents. I'm talking about a poor school curriculum which doesn't even has 'Governmental studies'. A passive age peer group. A society that doesn't attribute dignity to its youth. 

Why would it? We are an ageing population in any case, a society where you would find bulging eyes of old man patriarchs when you dared say something that made their genitals feel small. 

Advice: Decide what you are looking for in a candidate. Find out about the candidatesGather materials about the candidatesEvaluate candidates' stands on issuesLearn about the candidates' leadership abilitiesLearn how other people view the candidateSorting it all out

Don't just go vote 'bloc'! This is an over-rated philosophy that reflects illiterate people. Make sure the person you are voting has the ability to represent your voice in parliament. You don't vote just to make a political party advance, you vote to make the country advance!

Please, don't let parties just woo you with smart phones which are reportedly being gifted so that voters can click snaps of their voter's sheet and show it 'agents' outside and get paid for their vote...En tout cas c'est ceki zot p dir enbas laboutik. Pren kontt. Lepep admirab pa enn fierte sa. Enn la honte sa!  

MAURITIANS have a problem, and I'll quote what the mom of a friend wrote for my personal blog. "“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself." This suits Mauritians very well.