The framing of a mission for voter education, or the parameters of a particular programme, requires all election stakeholders to understand and adhere to the underlying principles of free and fair elections. In order for the voters to accept the outcome and to confer contingent consent on the victors, they must believe that the election was conducted freely and fairly. In order for this to happen, all stakeholders must collaborate in establishing and maintaining a transparent and orderly set of accepted rules and practices and to develop election etiquette and conduct, even when unwritten, that supports these
rules.
Of course, there are stakeholders who may have no interest in the outcome of an election,
save that it has expressed the will of the people, or electorate. But parties, other political
factions, and individual voters will all have an interest in the competition for power. Amongst
these individuals will be found the majority of civil society educators and organisations. No one
is immune, and, indeed, everyone is expected to vote and make an informed political decision in
favour of a preferred candidate.
It may be argued that this competition makes it impossible for anyone to behave collaboratively
in favour of the process rather than the outcome. In such a circumstance, perhaps the best that
can be hoped for is self-interested vigilance. But even such self-interest results in collaborative
behaviour if not collaborative motivations. If even this cannot be obtained, then elections often
must be conducted by outside organisations or bodies. And there are ample precedents where
national and organisational elections have been conducted on such a basis.
Such an arrangement is not sustainable in the long run, and all countries espousing democracy
must develop strategies to motivate collaborative behaviour between citizens and their political
parties and representatives. In order to conduct voter education programmes, such behaviour
must extend to the development of a voter education mission that is isolated from party
propaganda.
Voters Key to the Interests of Candidates
It is in the candidates' interests that voters are well informed and prepared, well motivated and
critical in their choices. It is in their interests that there is a large voter turn out and that the
election results reflect a free and fair process. In this process, and in the acceptance of the
outcome, the individual voter is key, and education for all those voters, the electorate, is a major
component in achieving it.
