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Irresponsible patriot or mature voter: which are you?

Irresponsible patriot or mature voter: which are you?

It was wrong of me not to vote in the last elections, and I am determined not repeat that mistake this time.

Shaukat Hamdani January 26, 2012

I will be the first to admit that it was wrong of me not to vote in the last elections. I regret that decision now, and it seems very irresponsible, especially since I took part in the student movement against former president Pervez Musharraf.

My reason was simple: I did not like any of the candidates. In hindsight, that was not a good enough reason to not protect my vote because even though I did not go to the polling station, in all likelihood, my vote was used in rigging.

I failed to protect my vote and for that I have to apologise. I am atoning for this sin by making sure I can convince as many people as I can to vote so please watch this video. I hope this makes an impact on you.

Even though I made a mistake in the past, the important thing is that I learnt from my mistake and I am going to ensure that this time around I protect my vote. Despite the fact that I am confused right now about who to vote for, I will I cast my vote. Even if I decide not to vote for anyone, I will go to the polling station and fill out the ballot paper in such a way that it gets disqualified and cannot be used in rigging.

I urge my fellow Pakistanis to realize that it is time that we both protected our vote and made it count. If done properly, we, the people of Pakistan, can make sure that our politicians know that we have the power to change their destiny and to hold them accountable for their actions. For too long, we have been careless, irresponsible and unconcerned. Even when we have had genuine love and concern for the country, many of us have not voted for various personal reasons. The time has come for this to change.

So when Pakistan votes, make sure you do too.

Pakistan Zindabad!

WRITTEN BY:
Shaukat Hamdani Broadcast journalist with an interest in sports, travel, history and culture. He tweets @Shaukii

The views expressed by the writer and the reader comments do not necassarily reflect the views and policies of the Express Tribune.

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COMMENTS (11)

waqas | 12 years ago | Reply I second you author :)) n i ll vote for the most sane and clean politican of pakistan :))

Majid Urrehman | 12 years ago | Reply I am proud that I've been voting in last three elections. I was made eligible after Musharraf's 18 year rule. I have been and I will cast my vote and I am not at all confused about whom I should vote. My vote will be to the same party who changed Pakistan for good only in 2 tiny duration of 2 years each 22 years and 14 years ago respectively.

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shauat hamdani | 12 years ago | Reply @iUmayr: good for you, but I would like to keep my vote secret. actually i believe everyones vote should be a secret because its a private matter. who my friends, my spouse, family vote for should not influence my vote, the vote should be solely my unbiased and educated decision So i am really glad you are voting, but its doesn’t matter to me who you vote for as long as your honest to yourself and Pakistan @bee cool, im glad to have inspired :)

Bee | 12 years ago | Reply @ Hamdani... good suggestion!! u made me write an article on it, hope ET accepts it :)

shaukat hamdani | 12 years ago | Reply @bee hmm tht is sad. And. I'm not really sure about how to tackle that. But if it happened to me I would make a lot of noise about it. Contact the local and international media. Go nuts on twitter etc :p

iUmayr | 12 years ago | Reply I am going to vote for the first in my life to Imran Khan and you?

bee | 12 years ago | Reply Mr.Hamdani i agree with u, we can definitely bring the change if we r given the chance to vote. Let me elaborate my point by telling u what happened during last elections. My mum went to the polling station and she was told that her vote had already been cast and she wasn't the only person over there whose vote was faked, many other told her that their coming to the station went in vain. What do u say about this fraudulent voting and how to fight with it?

waseem pasha | 12 years ago | Reply A thousand mile journey begins with a single step. Here we, the educated lot commit the mistake. We must cast our vote and convince our colleagues as well.This is the only way to change the things.If we do not vote then we dont have any right to crib.

shaukat hamdani | 12 years ago | Reply Hey bee yes it matters. One of the reason there is a monoply in ur area could be that not enough people in your area use their vote. When you don't use your vote the party might use it to vote for themselves. So make sure you protect your vote by either voteing or getting it disqualified

bee | 12 years ago | Reply There is a monopoly of a well known party,the area i live in.. no matter u vote or not, the outcome always turns out to be the same n i.e the party wins unanimously. Does my vote matter???

Parvez | 12 years ago | Reply That was good, a lot of youthful energy and motivation involved. I hate to be a wet blanket but I must say that I have voted more than once and have come to the conclusion that just voting is not enough. It's a feel good moment followed by a lot of frustration.Until and unless the vote means something and results in positive change it will be just an exercise and that is what needs to be addressed.

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Irresponsible patriot or mature voter: which are you?

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