Is the United States going to increase its troops abroad? What will be the United States policy toward Iraq in the next four years? Will educational funding be increased? These are the issues an American citizen is concerned about when choosing an appropriate candidate for the president.
Your kids will live in the country you are creating today. In order to be confident about tomorrow, you should realize the consequences of today’s decisions and feel responsible for it. That is why Election Day is important to you. That is why this presidential election is the top question in the United States.
Since the United States is known to be a leading highly-developed country in the world, the people outside the United States find it interesting and useful to observe the process of elections here.
The first thing an outsider would notice about the election is the magnitude of the event. I do not mean that elections are not a big deal in other countries, but nowhere in the world do people seem to spend so much money for campaigning.
For instance, in Russia a candidate’s expenses for his electoral campaign is limited by $300,000 of minimum monthly salary showings. In my country (Kazakhstan), candidates are guaranteed state and non-state financing for their election campaigns. The state financing provides for brief coverage of their platforms in the mass media. The non-state financing can be collected from the candidates’ own funds or voluntary contributions of citizens of Kazakhstan. This sum of money varies but cannot exceed the state standards.
In my opinion one of the reasons the election campaigns and its outcomes in the United States are so important for the people is that while you pay the government more than a quarter of the money you earn, it is more likely that you will be interested in how the money will be distributed.
In addition, people are highly informed about all the candidates and their platforms. Even if you are remote from politics, at least you understand general distinctions between the main political parties.
In comparison with the United States, where you have indirect popular election, Kazakhstan uses universal, direct, equal and secret voting to elect a president. A candidate conducts his or her election campaign and people are empowered to help the him or her.
You may choose the candidate by different reasons-either because his platform satisfies your interests, all your relatives are going to vote for him or you just like the way he looks or sounds.
Unfortunately some people doubt the uprightness of the elections. As a result, people abstain from voting. Smaller parties don’t have a real chance to win the polls, as they cannot compete with richer ones. You need money to inform the electorate about your election platform on.
There is a law in Greece that you can be sent to jail if you don’t vote. It is supposed to be your duty as a citizen and a patriot to express your active civic stand by means of voting. It sounds right to me. If you are not interested in the political scene in your state, you might either not believe your vote is going to change something or you just might be indifferent of the future of your country.
The last presidential election in the United States proved that a single state can have an impact on the election’s outcome. The election is an essential part of democracy because it means that you can rule your country. Today.
Milana Karayanidi is a freshman in general business administration. She can be reached at [email protected].