Volatile Mass. Senate Race to Affect African Immigrants
by our writer
BOSTON, JANUARY 18_ If there is one thing that Africans need to learn from Americans, it is the use of their voting power as a mean to shape the outcome of issues affecting them as a community.
And here in Massachusetts, it is not clear whether the many African Immigrants who are eligible to vote understand that the impeding senate election scheduled for tomorrow will have a drastic and direct consequence to crucial issues affecting them, and therefore the need to show up at the election booth to exercise their democratic right and social responsibility by casting their votes.
Back home, many Africans vote according to which politician dishes out the most money to them or who buys the most beer on the campaign trail, while others just do not show up to vote at all.
The consequences are always severe, when more people show up to elect the politician who bought the most votes or the one who rigged more than the others.
The same folks who voted for politicians who do not care about their welfare, or voters who refrained from voting, later start complaining that their leaders are corrupt or that they don’t care about their needs, ignoring the fact that it is indeed their failure to vote that gave birth to their current social economic situations.
However, in America, we have clearly seen folks taking their voting rights seriously, going out to vote when needed, rain, snow or shine.
Being a democratic country, Americans demonstrate respect for the views or opposing sides.
Everyone is free to say all that they want, but those who end up with the majority of the votes prevail, and the losing side has no choice other than to hold down and wait for the next election, while in Africa, people resort to violence with machettes and other crude weapons to settle scores.
This is the phenomena that have been admired most by many around the world, with America often seen as a symbol of real democratic rule worth emulating.
However, African strongmen hate to see this, because if these principles were to be applied to the African systems of governance, a lot of people would never see the door to the political offices, and would lose their ability to ‘eat’ from the public coffers to enrich themselves and their cohorts as the poor people watch helplessly.
In Massachusetts, a state with a big number of African Immigrants, three candidates will be squaring off tomorrow for the senate seat that was vacated by the late Senator Edward Kennedy who passed away recently and whose seat was filled on a temporary basis.
However, according to the law, a special election was called to fill the post for a full term senator whose election takes place tomorrow, Tuesday, January 19th.
The outcome of tomorrow’s election, that pities a Democrat against a Republican and an Independent candidate, will directly affect the voting power in the senate, where most of President Obama’s legislative Agenda is debated and voted upon.
If the Democratic candidate loose, President Obama’s pending agenda including immigration and healthcare reform, etc will be dealt a deadly blow, drastically affecting thousands of Africans in America, a prospect that has alarmed many of them.
“As Africans, we need to come out and vote in this race, because if we take it lightly and fail to cast our votes, all those programs and initiatives that president Obama has put in place will be derailed and that will affect us negatively,” said Ben Opara, a former candidate for Lowell City council seat in the 2009 elections.
“If you know you are an African who is a citizen in America, this is the time we need your vote. Get a day off from your work and go vote. Even 50 votes can make a difference in this kind if a tight race,” added Opara.
Other callers to AjabuAfrica.com also encouraged Africans to get out and vote, saying that voting will be the right and responsible thing to do.
For those who are already registered to vote for in this election, voting will take place in their respective local precincts, mostly held in local schools.
For those who were timely on their registration, just go do it, vote for Martha Coakley or Scott Brown, whoever is your choice, simply because many people’s future, including yours, will be shaped by your vote.
For more information on voting in this very important senate race, visit the official state elections website at:
http://www.sec.state.ma.us
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