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Time to vote has arrived

This week's editorial discusses the time of the federal election.

We have almost reached the end of a very long and exhausting federal election campaign. Why Stephen Harper chose to go through such an arduous process by launching a 78-day campaign is anybody’s guess. But one has to agree that the long campaign period also allowed a lot of dirty linen to come out and be discussed as campaign issues.

In the process we have learned a lot of secrets about what has been going on behind the closed doors of the prime minister’s office, as leaked by whistleblowers, apparently timed to damage the Conservative leader.

We have also heard lots and lots of promises from all three leaders but haven’t found the opportunity to test and analyze how much of what they told us was the truth, how much of it was exaggeration or outright deception. Yes, there was a measure of deception, maybe more than a little, because those who had access to relevant information and data did report that some fact checking demonstrated there were lots of promises or declarations that were not or might not be true.

Here lies one of the fundamental flaws of this election campaign: Why did the political parties announce their full election platforms just 10 days before the voting day?

Yes, as citizens and members of the electorate, it is our duty to become informed about the parties’ platforms and policies to make an informed decision on which one to support, but why are we being forced to do it within only a week or 10 days?

And in the few days left until the voting day, we are told by the national media to be prepared by some more nasty propaganda over the airwaves with some mudslinging TV commercials.

That is probably the ugly side of politics: While every politician claims to be running for office for the lofty goal of serving the country and the constituents, the tactics employed and the practices put in place make one really wonder if a person can go through so much stress and trouble just to serve for the interests of others.

Anyway, now that our politicians have done their job by telling us some truths and half-truths, by confusing us with figures that might or might not be realistic and by making promises they may or may not deliver, it is up to us to citizens to make our decision on which ones we are going to believe.

At the end of the day, our decisions will be influenced by a lot of factors: the way we see the world and our place in it, the state of our finances, the persuasive powers of our friends or family, our personal sense of belonging to the nation, to a political line of thinking or to an interest group, just to name a few.

Regardless of the party or the politician we choose to support, however, the important thing is to show that support in the ballot box. We can only claim to hold the governments to account if we can claim the ownership of our voice to choose one.

According to election officials, by the end of the Thanksgiving weekend, more than 2.2 million voters had already cast their ballots. This is a good sign. The higher the voter turnout, the more democratic is the choice, which we will all have to respect when it emerges next week on Tuesday.