One thing is for people to not go to the elections – it is their right to vote, and by not going, they forfeit this right. OK, whatever. They do not get to be proud or frustrated about what happens next.
However, a completely different thing is for a person to want to vote and to not have the chance.
Outside or Romania, so few polling stations were opened that the citizens stood in line 4-5-12 hours. On one side, it is amazing that the people are aware enough and awake enough as to know that their vote counts. But on the other side, doesn’t this mean that there is something seriously wrong with the current government? When people are willing to stand in the cold for several hours, sometimes after having had to travel from afar, just to express their opinion? And also, isn’t is just plain wrong to have the people in governing mock its citizens in this ridiculous way?
Many did not go to the elections. Because yes, it meant wasting an entire day.
For me, it was not a waste of time. It took me 4 hours in a long line, but i waited and i am proud. I have felt the frustration of wanting to vote, knowing it is myright and seeing that the authorities simply deny people of that right. There were so many persons who stood in line and did not make it – the lines were interminable, thousands of people united for a single cause: to decide the future. Again, this is admirable. And what is happening at the top, what the authorities are doing – well that is plain wrong.
I feel proud that i went. It is a nice sense of appurtenance to a group that went against the system. The authorities did not want me to vote – they created all the conditions to scare me and others off. But i stood there. For 4 hours, in the cold.
If the other candidate wins, at least i know that i, and people like me did what we could. Similarly, if my candidate wins, it will also be because of me and people like me.
P.S. The sacrifice paid off. Expecting a brighter future :)