TOMORROW, Zambia goes to the polls. Some citizens are excited about the opportunity to exercise their civic right to vote. They cannot wait to walk into that polling booth and draw the X next to the face of their preferred candidate. But there is another group of citizens that will not take part in the elections for various reasons.

There are those who do not vote for religious reasons. They believe that their absolute loyalty belongs to God’s heavenly Kingdom rather than any human government and therefore strictly practise what they call political neutrality. There is another group which, owing to circumstances beyond its control, may find itself away from the polling station where members registered, while others may fall ill or encounter emergencies which make it impossible for them to vote.

Then there is that stubborn category which says: “Even if we vote, nothing changes, so what is the point?” For purposes of our message today, we can put all these citizens into one broad category of “non-voters”. Our message is directed particularly at them. Those who do not vote still vote, one way or another; the only difference is that they surrender the opportunity to choose whom their “vote” benefits.

Look at it this way. Suppose two candidates are contesting an election among 100 registered voters. The most accurate way of establishing whom the majority genuinely prefers is for all 100 people to participate. If everybody votes, one candidate would require at least 51 votes to command an outright majority.

But suppose only 50 people turn up. Suddenly, a candidate needs only 26 votes to defeat the other. What happened to the other 50? They did not disappear from society. They will still wake up the following morning under the government chosen by the 50 who participated. They will pay taxes under that government and they will experience the economic decisions of that leader elected by the 26 people. In other words, they still participate in the consequences of the election despite refusing to participate in the decision.

This is what we mean when we say those who do not vote still vote, but without making a choice. By staying home, you are going to effectively leave the decision to somebody else. And that somebody else may choose the very candidate whom the non-voter considers least suitable. Had those other 50 citizens participated, the outcome could have been completely different. The candidate who received 26 votes among the 50 who turned up might not have won if the silent voters had actually showed up.

To further emphasise this point, we can add that, it’s not possible for a citizen to completely have no preference between two people. One may dislike both, distrust both or feel disappointed by the entire political system, but after listening to them, examining their records and comparing their promises, there will ordinarily be one who appears more reasonable, more competent or simply less undesirable than the other.

This is also the reason why, before every election, there is a period of 90 days of vigorous campaigns. That period is meant for the candidates to talk to you so that you can assess who deserves your vote. No matter how indifferent you feel about the candidates, there is always going to be one whom you develop a soft spot for. And this is exactly where the problems comes in. If you don’t go to vote, that candidate you felt was at least better or more reasonable or with a better campaign message is likely to lose because the person next to you went to vote without paying attention to the campaign message.

You may not find a perfect candidate. Democracy has never promised perfect choices. It gives citizens the power to choose between the options available. We respect citizens whose religious convictions prevent them from participating in politics, even though we hold the opinion that such religious people have no right to complain about that earthly government when it messes up. We sympathise with those who genuinely cannot reach their polling stations because of illness, travel or unavoidable circumstances.

But to those registered voters who are simply tired, disappointed or convinced that their single vote cannot make a difference, we say: reconsider. Elections have been won and lost by remarkably small margins around the world. Every vote contributes to the final arithmetic. Tomorrow is not merely about politicians. It is about citizens deciding who should exercise public power on their behalf.

Go to the polling station. Stand in that queue. Enter the booth. Make your choice. Because whether you vote or not, somebody will govern you after this election. The question is whether you helped choose that person.