SHILLONG: Active participation of the people is crucial to preserve democracy empowering people to hold the government accountable and bring about a change.
Speaking at the National Voters’ Day programme held at picturesque location of Ward’s Lake on Friday, additional chief secretary, Hector Marwein said people should exercise their voting rights to show their contentment or discontentment about the government’s policies and programmes.
“Without participation of people, democracy is meaningless. In a democracy, people have the right to vote unlike in a monarchy. Right to vote is a valuable right,” he said.
With the state Election department giving a major thrust to young voters, he said it was ballot and not the bullet to hold the government accountable and to bring about a change in governance.
As the state Election department gears up for the Lok Sabha polls likely to be held in March, Marwein said the power to disallow unhealthy practices such as alcohol and money power is upto the people.
“You cannot sell your vote. Government may prevent the alcohol power and money power but it is up to the people to not allow such practices to take root in democracy,” he said.
He added, “Take our vote very seriously, democracy may not be perfect but it is the best system to rule man over man.”
