Political parties and independent candidates started campaigns for the parliamentary elections yesterday. The parties unveiled their manifestos in different parts of the country. Many of the parties have excellent ideas on paper and promise to transform the country. However, it’s your participation in the electoral process as a voter, which will help sieve out the party or independent candidate with the best manifesto and implementation strategy. Unless you turn up for campaign rallies, it may be difficult to make an informed decision of which party has a better manifesto and a better plan to implement it. Voters should ask the hard questions to these parties? As a voter it’s your right to ensure that the right people go to Parliament to represent you. Which party is genuinely advancing a programme that will meet your needs as a citizen? And how is that party going to implement these programmes? It’s one thing to have good plans on paper and to make promises of transforming the country overnight, and delivering on those promises another. And after attending the campaign rallies, don’t stop at that. Turn up on the voting day and vote the party of your choice. Your vote counts. Your vote holds your future. Misusing your vote by not voting means you’re gambling away your future.  It does not help if the voting day comes and you stay home. It’s your vote that will ensure that the right candidates or parties win. So on polling day turn up in big numbers and vote wisely.