Brazilian envoy advocates compulsory voting

The Brazilian Ambassador to Ghana, Ms Irene Vida Gala, has advocated the adoption of compulsory voting during elections in developing countries such as Ghana.

“When every citizen is mandated to vote, the politician will see it as a responsibility to actively involve them in the decision-making process of the country.

“However, in a system where citizens see voting as optional they are relegated to the background and taken for a ride by the politician,” she said.

Ms Gala expressed this concern when she paid a courtesy call on the Editor of the Daily Graphic, Mr Ransford Tetteh, in Accra last week Wednesday. 

Her visit was meant to brief the Editor about the peaceful elections that were organised in Brazil in October and to officially inform him of the re-election of President Dilma Rousseff.

Compulsory voting in Brazil

Explaining how compulsory voting works in Brazil, Ms Gala stated that the system was instituted in that country in the 19th Century.

The idea, she said, was meant to actively involve every citizen in the decision-making process of that country, adding that “it is also to ensure the civic responsibility of every citizen.”

Any citizen who refuses to vote on election day, according to Ms Gala, is made to pay a fine of not less than a dollar, unless he or she justifies why he or she will or can not vote.

“Young or poor countries need the participation of every individual as a way of ensuring inclusiveness and to give the politician a bigger task of making their messages known to the less privileged in society,” she stressed.

The system would also ensure that politicians were mandated to develop policies that would be in the general interest of the public, the Ambassador said.  

Liberal voting 

She indicated that liberal or free voting was only helpful to the advanced countries, where the citizens had enough information before elections to make informed decisions.

With that, Ms Gala said, no matter their levels in society, citizens could not be left out of the decision-making process of such nations.

Re-election of President Rousseff

Commenting on the re-election of Ms Rousseff, the Ambassador stated that her victory meant a new beginning for Brazil.

She said the government of President Rousseff would put social intervention policies in place to alleviate poverty.  

Mr Tetteh commended the ambassador and her government for their roles Ghana’s development.