Voter education needed

MUCH has been said about educating voters to be better informed so they know who to vote for when election time comes around.
Researchers say most people in PNG cast their votes for the candidates they think is most likely to help them directly or help their families or help their village.
Despite the campaign to vote on party policies and look out for personal traits in a candidate, it’s obvious the trend for localised or penalised benefits votes will continue this election.
The only way to move away from that is through quality education from the urban to rural schools.
Many definitions of quality in education exist, testifying to the complexity and multifaceted nature of the concept.
The issue of quality education must be addressed immediately by all concerned authority so at least the next generation of voters or those voting in the next two elections under what party policies mean, what to look out for in candidates and basically vote without fear or favour.
Relevant authorities and the general public have spoken out airing their concerns on the trend of voting for localised or penalised benefit.
Those who were endorsed by political parties used the campaign period to outline their policies or platforms – what their party stands for and as individuals how they will deliver when they are elected into Parliament.
Then we also have those who were running as independent candidates who also had their target list of things to do when elected.
The majority of voters in this county are the rural majority which means they will either be illiterate or semi-literate.
Most policies turn out to be similar with the ultimate target of delivering service to the people which is really not fair on our voters in the rural areas as they up between penalised voting and following what others like Transparency International, the Ombudsman Commission or even the Electoral Commission through the various awareness programmes.
The high number of informal votes could mean a lot but the main reason would the voter does not understand the voting system.
Despite the awareness of the limited preferential voting system, many still do not understand that LPV system allows three choices for the voter.
Understanding the counting rules will also assist in understanding how a winner is determined and help you cast your vote wisely.
The target is to ensure the number of informal votes gets lower and that can be achieved through quality education.
Realistically it will take more than just talking through awareness, seminars and roadshows to achieve the change in mentality on this issue.
Like in previous editorials, the educated elites have the chance now to make a change – to reach out to the rural population and educate them on the electoral process.
If there is no education, be rest assured the voting trend of casing votes for candidates who they think and know is mostly likely to help them directly or help their families or help their village will happen again.
And the trend will continue if nothing constructive is done.