DEMOCRACY IS THE BATTLE FOR THE HEARTS AND MINDS OF THE PEOPLE

Apparently, the delay in issuing a permit to UDP and its decision to continue to have discussion  with the people without using a public address system has focused attention on the responsibility of the state  to  educate its agents to know the content of the Public Order Act and the rights  of political parties established by the Constitution and the Elections Act . Political leaders are to exercise freedom of speech, association, movement and assembly aimed at putting their programmes to the  people in order to win their  hearts and minds . Once a party is unable to do this it should be asked to be deregistered and leave its members with the choice of either retiring from politics or becoming members of a dissident movement. Hence the political contract which makes democracy to work is for the government of the day to respect the rights of other parties to propagate their values, policies and programmes to win the hearts and minds of the people and for other parties to recognise the mandate of the ruling party to implement its policies and programmes to fulfill its electoral promises to win the hearts and minds of the people. In this way, the people would be able to make informed choice without intimidation or inducement.  ]]>