Casting your irst vote
by Nadira Gunatilleke
Are you over the age of 18?
Celebrated your 18th birthday before updating the voters’ registry? Then
you get the chance of casting your first vote at the upcoming
Parliamentary Election to be held on April 8. Casting your very first
vote is something exciting as a teenager. Since all human beings are
political animals, you may have already decided to which party and to
which politician you are going to cast your first vote. Maybe you are
listening to others’ `advice’ on this! If so..... read further!
To whom should you cast your first valuable vote? This could be a
very big problem to you as you listen to all sorts of `advice’ at the
moment. You are bound to get `information’ through the media too. If you
step out, you will be bombarded with more `information’, from the walls,
gates, electricity posts, telephone posts, roofs, paddyfields, rivers,
on the road itself and even from trees! Nothing is left without a
poster! So how are you going to select who to cast your vote for? It is
all about electing your representative, so you have to be concerned.
 How about their education level? Educated and uneducated people have
entirely different thinking patterns. Educated people see all the sides
of an entity or at least more than one side of a story while the
uneducated people always see only one side. Educated people are very
good at analysing skills, tolerance, the ability to communicate
effectively and accurately and the ability to predict future outcomes.
So education matters!
The other main requirement is to be non violent. Nothing can be done
with a violent person. Many candidates mentioned this during the
interviews they had with newspapers recently. The candidates should be
intelligent. Otherwise they cannot do anything. They have to make
intelligent decisions on behalf of you in the future. So intelligence
matters!
All the candidates who had those qualities mentioned them during
their media interviews. So read the newspapers and watch the news!
Another fact you can consider is their past behaviour, the services
they rendered to you, the occasions they intervened to solve your
problems, the times they stood by you during your tough times and things
like that. Do you remember their attitude after the last General
Election. Did they allow you to meet them quickly and easily to discuss
your matters? Did they attend the funeral took place at your home just
after the previous election (not during last year)? You must have a very
good memory to select the right candidates! If you have a short memory
you will be in trouble.
On the day of voting, get up early. Get dressed in `non political’
colour clothes such as black, white, ash or brown (just to avoid
unnecessary attention). Go to your polling station early with your
National Identity card and cast your vote. Use your all three
preferential votes (this could be the last time you are going to cast
three preferential votes). Come home directly after casting your vote
without hanging around with friends or strangers enjoying the `thrill’
of casting your first vote! Good luck!
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