Dimapur, November 11 (MExN): With the State gearing up for the 2008 Assembly Elections and the local dailies filled with reports of defection, joining, rejoining and other politically motivated press releases from different political parties and candidates, Churches belonging to different tribes in Tuensang district is harping on a Candidates Forum by organizing a public summit on November 20 at the Tuensang Town Baptist Church which will bring the public and the different political party leaders and the intending candidates on one platform and thereby create consciousness on voter rights and responsibilities.
The Public meeting, titled “Tuensang People’s Summit for Free, Fair and Accountable Election 2008” aims to serve as a forum for those intending political candidates from the district, said Chingmak Kejong, Secretary of the Eleutheros Christian Society, an NGO based in Tuensang and who is also a part of the organizer.
Chingmak Kejong said that the summit would bring together all Village Heads, Council Chairmen, Pastors and student representatives from all villages of Tuensang to a common platform to create consciousness on voter rights and responsibilities. The People’s summit is the collective effort of the YBBA, KBCA, CBLT, USBLA and ECS, he said.
He said that the summit, as a candidate forum, would provide an opportunity for leaders belonging to different political parties from all constituencies within the district to present their election manifesto. “The process is contemplated at arriving at a consensual commitment based on Christian values to promote free, fair and a just election process,” said Kejong, a social worker in Tuensang working in the field of HIV/AIDS and education.
All candidates will be given seven minutes after which they will respond to a panel of prominent individuals representing the people, said Chingmak Kejong. The summit is expected to be attended by people from all the places in the districts, and the organizers have extended invitation to all concern people, he added. The entire session will telecast live in Tuensang by the Local Cable Network.
However, despite the noble aims and objective and of the organizers in coming up with the summit, Chingmak Kejong expressed a sense of pessimism given the fact that money and muscle power have much bigger say in the election system in the State. “I know this won’t lead to anywhere but we know we have to give a start,” said Kejong in a telephonic conversation this evening.
However, Kejong courageously asserted that the summit will not be in vain since ‘someone has to become accountable for the sake of the society’ and that the summit might be the beginning of making the political leaders, candidates and the people more accountable to the society. He also said that the summit would bring the political candidates into close contact with the people since the common people; the electorates do not even see their candidates during election time.
Giving out the main reason for the organizing the platform, Kejong said that the basic intention is that most of the time, the civil societies and the public holds the elected members accountable for the all the failures to perform their duties as an MLA. However, he affirmed that the failure is a two way process involving both the public and the elected representatives. He said that somewhere along the line, the people have failed to see their own mistakes in not holding themselves accountable for the lack of developmental activities in the district.
In this regard, Kejong hoped that the initiative of the churches is aimed at sensitizing the people on their rights and responsibilities as the electorate in a democracy would go a long way, though it might a small beginning now.
The session of the Summit would begin on the November 19 and the public platform for the political leaders would be held the following day, informed Kejong. However, he added that the summit would be more like a time for prayers and introspection.
Nonetheless, despite the bold initiative of the churches in Tuensang, one cannot say how far it can achieve its noble aims, since past elections in Nagaland have shown that the people are less concerned about the manifestos of the political parties than they are concerned about easy money during elections. However, this might as well be a small beginning for the people in Tuensang to be more politically conscious and aware.
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