I read in the newspaper last weekend that there are still a lot of Filipinos who have not decided yet who to vote for on May 10. Some are saying that they are still undecided because the person who they really want to vote for is not doing well in the surveys. Apparently, there are people who are convincing them not to vote for who they like because they will just be wasting their votes. Others remain undecided because they think that if they vote for the one they like, the candidate who they do not want to win might win so they are thinking of just voting for the candidate who has better chances of winning over the other based on surveys.
Is voting for the candidate you like who is trailing in the surveys really equivalent to wasting your vote? I do not think so. If you want a candidate because you think he is capable of bringing hope to this land then vote for him and convince others to vote for him also. Do not vote for a person just because he is number 1 or number 2 in the surveys. I mean if you are going to vote for any of the two on top of the list because you really believe in them then do so. But if you are going to vote for any of them just because of their position in the survey then think again.
If you do not want a candidate to win, the solution is not by voting for the candidate closest to him in the surveys. Who knows, that person closest to him might just be made from the same mold. You see, if that person is really the best person to become our next president, you will be voting for him because he is good and not because he has better chances to beat the person you do not like. Again, even if surveys say that your candidate is ranked lower, vote for him still and then convince others to do the same. Tell others why you think he is good, why he deserves to win. Sometimes you might feel that to do so you have to tell people bad things about the other candidates. Don’t! Just tell them why yours is better and then they would know.
Statistical surveys, according to wikipedia, are used to collect quantitative information about items in a population. Surveys of human populations and institutions are common in political polling and government, health, social science and marketing research.
Some politicians are questioning the validity of surveys. Naturally these are the people who are fairing badly in national surveys. Those leading the surveys say that they are valid. They say conducting a survey is a science and that data gathered can be used to make accurate generalizations. There is no question about that. Survey in itself is not bad because if it were then it would not be used in market researches or scientific studies. With regards to the use of surveys in political polling the question in not about the survey itself but how it is conducted. There are people who say that results of surveys are very much affected by whoever is commissioning it. These are just assumptions. I do not have proofs to support this. Those who are saying this also have not really shown proofs. But this can be possible. Why? You see, results of elections in the past have been questioned. They say the results have been manipulated. If electoral proceedings that are being observed by a lot of people including foreign media can be manipulated don’t you think it is also possible to manipulate surveys that are generally conducted unobserved? There is a lot to gain by manipulating survey results. They can set the minds of people that they are the best as shown by the many people who supposedly believe in them. They can also set the minds of people especially the less informed that they will just be wasting their votes if they vote for those losing in surveys. They can also use the result later on to say that they have been cheated if they fail in the actual elections. They can further use it to incite people to go to the streets because the election results have been tampered with.
We only have a few days left before the elections. Let us use this time to really think about our options. I suggest that you vote for the candidate whom you really think will be able to bring peace and hope into this divided land of ours. If you believe that those leading in surveys are the ones who can serve the country best then vote for them but do not vote for them just because they are there on top. If you believe that those at the tail end of the surveys are the best ones to lead the land then vote for them. Do not think of it as a waste of vote. If you do not want somebody to win, instead of just voting for the closest rival (this is what I call wasting your vote), ask others to vote for who you believe is best by telling them why he is the best.
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