To Vote or Not To Vote
Posted by sherwintobing | Posted in Articles in English, Catatan Pribadi, Indonesia, Politik | Posted on 07-07-2009
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Tomorrow is the day guys, the day which determines the fate of our country for the next five years. I strongly urge you to vote, whomever you choose.
If you ask me why you have to vote, I will say it is because you can vote. Do not ever complain in the future if the president-elect really sucks if you do not even bother to spend couple of minutes to vote. If you are persistent and think it is cool not to vote, well, you miss the feast. You can stay at home, watch TV, read comic books or do whatever you like, but for goodness’ sake, stop persuading other people not to vote.
I believe most of you already have a choice and so do I. I will not waste my vote for candidates with bad track records on human rights, thus I guess you already know which lucky candidate gets my vote. You might want to read articles written by prominent Indonesian bloggers, Wimar Witoelar and Herman Saksono, on why they also vote for that guy.
Anyway, I surely hope Indonesian Presidential Elections will not end like Iranian one. Constitutional Court has made it possible for unregistered voters to vote by bringing their ID cards or passports to voting booths. This should minimize the number of people deprived of their constitutional right. I urge the losers to gently admit their defeat and encourage their constituents to support the president-elect. This is what SBY said what he would do if he lost, which reminded me of John McCain’s concession speech.
UPDATED
July 8th, 14.55 WIB: Based on its quick count, Trans Corp-LSI declared SBY as the president-elect. It estimated that SBY gained more than 60%.
Picture was taken from here.
“I will not waste my vote for candidates with bad track records on human rights”
same with me matey!
walaupun belum terbukti bersalah, tapi juga tidak terbukti tidak bersalah.
so, i think we share the same political views?
This is a positive post encouraging everyone to vote tomorrow. Absolute agree with you. Because a low turnout would mean there will be no solid mandate for a strong government on the one hand and it would signal the absence of a vibrant a civil society. Taking part in elections is about the minimal contribution one can make as a good citizen ( therefore, over 50 years now I never missed an election even once).
So, yes, I also think voting is kind of morally “mandatory” in a democracy .
You also quite rightly called for smooth elections. And I’m sure they will be. The Indonesian electorate earlier showed striking political maturity and parties and politicians earlier also showed that, in this respect at least, they did stick to the rules.
I agree with you, If you didnt vote, you cant complain in future. But I’m impressed with the forgetfulness of most people in Indonesia. They forgot history very quickly, they dont even care when one of the candidate have bad tracks records on human right’s issues. *easttimorcoughcough*
I couldn’t agree more. You can say that again. I’m with you. Agreed.
I’m running out of expression to show my agreement. Hehehe.
yep. I agree with you. if they don’t even bother to vote, they shouldn’t complain. ’cause when they choose not to vote, it means they put themselves to be out of the system. thus, they better stop complaining, keep those whining mouths shut. *harsh, I know
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may the best win.. and I hope the losers can take their lost with dignity. when McCain lost from Obama, he took it with grace; and he gained respect from everyone. we don’t see that much from our so-called leaders here..
and, I also hope, one particular candidate will realize that this is her 3rd lost, and that she’s not as good as she thinks, and that not THAT many people are supporting her or even trust her in the first place..I just hope that she’ll realize it and let it go on the next election… *I guess you know whom I’m talking about.*
I did not vote yesterday. I have my own reason, and I never persuade people to do so. But I always pay my taxes to this beloved country, on time. You’re still an Indonesian, whether you vote or not. But you don’t deserve an Indonesian citizen if you don’t have NPWP, and it’s mean you never pay your taxes properly. So, I am not agree with a statement like “You can not complain if you did’nt vote”. You can not complain, if you never do your obligation to this country, such as paying taxes, but not on Election. Election is our right, not an obligation. That’s what i think.
@macangadungan:
Yes, I would be ashamed if I have those kinds of people as my President. I do believe we share common political views here.
@Colson:
I agree with you. Taking part in an election is one contribution we can give as a good citizen. I haven’t found any news source mentioning the percentage of turn out in this Presidential Elections. I hope it’s going to be higher than it was in legislative elections.
@Calvin:
*kerusuhan98cough*.
That’s right Calvin, how come people forget what those two guys did in the past? That’s, indeed, impressive.
@michaljubel:
Haha, yang penting “Lanjutkan!” kan bel?
@vienz:
My friend told me that Megawati’ll run again in 2014. 
I heard JK already congratulated SBY for his victory, I knew he would fo that, he also congratulated SBY before when Demokrat won the legislative elections. As for Megawati, she can’t even forgiven SBY for winning over her in 2004, bet she won’t congratulate him and will find a way to delegitimate SBY’s victory.
@rahadian p. paramita:
Well, I truly appreciate you for doing your duty as a citizen, that is to pay taxes. As for election, I agree with you, to vote isn’t an obligation, rather it’s a right.
Election’s a time when a person can elect a right leader, who can better his life. If he doesn’t want to better his life and decides not to vote, why complaining if you later found yourself in a misery? Why didn’t you vote for other candidates? Your life could’ve been better. To summarize my point, if you don’t vote, you deliberately decided not to choose someone who can better your life.
Yup. I Got your point
What its in my mind is, those candidates will bring no better for me (my life). Maybe next election… 
@rahadian p. paramita:
I appreciate your opinion kok Pak, salam kenal btw.
Haha, well if that’s what you think.