Exercising the Power of One

By Renton de Alwis

Written in January 2010, just prior to the Presidential elections held that year, this column examined then of the need for our electorate/ each of us to exercise our own initiative in ensuring that we get what we desire as citizens. It may well serve as a baseline to critically evaluate, if indeed we have been able to achieve success on that front given where we currently are.

At the time of my filing this column, there is an uneasy calm all around us. It is almost as if a storm has blown over and a soft morning sun has risen, with a few dark clouds yet to disappear. Campaigning for what seemed like one of the most hotly contested (at least it was positioned to be so) Presidential elections is over. The 48 hour period before polling begins, is now in effect. Except perhaps for backstage preparations, and attempts to peep at the audience by some actors before the next act begins, the screen in front remain closed. Never before seen media advertising spends and other resources had been used to woo us: the voters. Never before seen gimmicks have been used to convince us, and a never before felt heat had been generated all round. While some of this aptly exposed the levels of depravity in our midst, it also reminded us of the ‘power’ that each citizen posses in a democracy. Inside that polling booth, standing alone casting one’s ballot, one would feel a momentary power, that is unique and unparallel to any other.

Calm and restraint

At the time you read this, you would have exercised your ‘power of one’, if you had what was needed to be part of the electorate. You may even have been part of the official process of the conduct of the election and have that feeling of relief ‘thank God it’s all over’. Those, who were part of the campaigning trail must with their tired limbs and hoarse throats in the least, have got some sleep, to muster enough energy to prepare for the next steps in the process, be it celebration, getting on with issues of governance or take on the blame game. Appeals have been made by those that matter from among the political and civil society leadership, for continued calm. The clarion call is for all to refrain from deeds that hurt others and to exercise self-restrain to the fullest in the aftermath of this drama.   

Closest we get

At a Presidential election, you vote for a single person, and not for several as at a general election. This perhaps is the closest we get to the original form of democratic representation which began in the coliseum of the Greek city state, where each person had the power to elect representatives and leaders of their choice by being present to directly exercise his or her preference. I know you will cry foul at my drawing a parallel, as there are too many flaws we can find in the system we have designed for ourselves, from that of the original form of direct democracy. In that system, they had safeguards such as disqualifying citizens who lived close to the city walls, from voting on issues to do with, declaring war. This was for they would have a vested interest to protect their own homes and may subjugate the interest of the city state, when voting on such issues.

It all began around 500 BC with the Athenian concept of direct democracy, where all adult male citizens of the city state gathered in the arena, to participate and vote on issues. The power of one in decision making at the time was so significant that there was even a word, which is now used as a strong negative coined to describe a person who chose not to participate. The word is ‘idiot’ that is derived from that early Greek usage of the word idiōtēs, meaning a private person, a person who is not actively interested in politics; such characters were talked about with contempt and the word eventually acquired its modern meaning. Today, in our context of representative democracy its meaning also fits those who over-indulge themselves in the process of electoral representation.

Elector and the elected

Exercising the power of one that began then in the direct form, withered away with the sheer unmanageability of the process with population and size of the ‘electorate’ growing. In a majority of democracies around the world, a shift was made, with elected representatives mandated to represent group interests. Often called the electoral representation system, the individual citizen delegated his or her power to decide or influence over governance issues, to another individual who then became his or her elected representative functioning on behalf of all those who elected him or her. And thus the ‘Power of one’ was subjugated to a secondary status with reliance on the goodness and the effectiveness of the representative, in whose charge each individual’s power to influence or decide on issues was placed. In the real domain there are still some semblances of direct democratic representation seen in governance such as the Swiss system of Canton-based decision making, the African tribal systems and the Gandhian concept of the ‘Panchayat’ or ‘Gram Swaraj’.

What is indeed sad in our current system of governance is that we have to let go of the ‘the power of one’ which we exercised inside the confines of that polling booth, upon deciding that election’s final outcome and await another opportunity to do so after the expiration of a specified period of time. We then count on the forth estate or the media, the elected themselves or other public and/or civil society leaders and/or organisations to protect that power of ours, on our behalf. Sadly, we have seen how over the years these agents of ours’ have failed us.

Solid good governance

Now that we have voted to elect the President to lead us and will be voting hence to elect more to support him subsequently, what we must do in earnest is to keep a strong vigil, be aware, study, understand and be on top of issues to our best of ability, so we could make a strong call at all times to protect ‘our power of one’. We must not only exercise our ‘power of one’ and call for solid good governance from our elected representatives. We must also expect it from our media and public sector organisations, corporate and business sector institutions and all other civil society organisations and its leaders.

This is not only our right but also our responsibility in exercising our ‘power of one’ for the betterment of our society and our nation.