Choose wisely, make your vote count

THE general election in June this year is very crucial and it is imperative our people know how important their votes are as it can make or break the nation.
The country needs good leaders who are stout Christians with strong family backgrounds.
A leader must be one who is faithful to his wife and children or if she is a woman, she is one who is faithful to her husband and children.
He or she is a Christian and is committed to his her role as leader in the church.
Having said this, a pastor’s reference of an aspiring leader should be mandatory by law.
The country is plagued, riddled and is seriously burdened with corruption.
Corruption is systematic, problematic and is endemic to such an extent that it is already affecting the country in many ways.
Corruption is so high in this country to the extent that it seems so normal, even when bribes are given and accepted by people and at places one least expects such things to happen.
The people must research the background of all intending candidates so they can vote for a person who is a genuine practising Christian, a person who is not of pride, big name and fame but who is humble, gentle and has a heart for the simple people.
He or she is not given to greed, and he or she is not in it to gain for self at all costs.
Choose a person who is already successful in business or in a profession, and he or she has put their hand up with a very genuine concern for the people.
We don’t want to elect people who will go in to add to their list of wives, cars, houses and other possessions at the cost of the ordinary people.
People with such attitudes have their minds set on self-gain to build empires for themselves and don’t care if they get richer at the expense of the simple people who had voted them.
They are the kind who widen the gap between those who have and those who do not have, yet it seems normal to them because it does not affect them.
We don’t want to elect people who are very seldom in their electorate, who spend most of their time in Port Moresby or overseas.
The person we vote for should be one who is in the church serving as a leader on a Saturday or a Sunday in the role of a deacon or deaconess.
The person we vote for is spoken highly of by his or her pastor and others in the church and the community.
Don’t vote for a person because he or she is a wantok of yours but not a genuine Christian leader or because he or she has given you something.
Vote wisely because your vote can make a difference, your vote can mean freedom from corruption, it can mean freedom from poverty, it can mean more jobs for the young people, it can mean better schools, it can mean better roads, it can mean better bridges, it can mean better hospitals that are well equipped with qualified clinical personnel, quality machines and medicines, it can mean improved living standards for all people, it can mean electricity for all, water supply for all and equal distribution of wealth for all.
Allow me to conclude with this passage of scripture from God’s holy word.
“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.” (Prov.14:34)
Righteousness is the best medicine for the country, so choose righteous leaders so the country can experience prosperity.
Without righteousness, Papua New Guinea will still be burdened with corruption, debts, poverty, unemployment and law and order problems.
God bless Papua New Guinea with a safe and corruption-free general election.

Pastor Peter Ropra
Mt Hagen, WHP