If
politicians are not elected, they cannot attend Parliament, no town council to
be responsible to, and no MPS, so nothing to do. Is that so? Does an opposition
politician have a voice without being in Parliament to ask questions? Can they
participate or play a part in the upkeep and well being of the constituents
without a town council or without a MPS?
Without the
privilege of being in Parliament to ask questions, the opposition politicians still
can ask many questions outside Parliament to hold the govt accountable for
their policies and actions. They can raise issues, engage in discussions on
matters affecting the people and country and keep the govt on its toes, to
check on the govt, without being in Parliament.
There is the
social media, the respective websites of the political parties and yes, even
the main media can be called upon for press conference to say their piece. If
opposition politicians just fade away after a GE, and keep their mouths shut in
between GEs, they would very likely be forgotten.
In between
GEs is the time for them to build up their credentials, their positions on
issues and to get the coverage they needed, so that by the next GE they will be
well known and be familiar faces to the electorate. They need to be in the
minds of the people, that they are there, that they are concerned with issues
affecting the people. By talking about issues, by making their stands, the
electorates get to know them better, get more time to measure them and feel
comfortable with them, and when the GE comes around, they are already
established and well known personalities to the people.
In between
GEs are important time for the opposition politicians to build up their
credibility. Why do the people think some politicians are fit to be
politicians? It is because they are in the news over the period before the next
GE. People get used to them and subconsciously think that they are politicians.
As for opposition politicians, they are just like strange things, untested,
unknown and thus unsure. Opposition politicians must become household names,
their names must be on the lips of the people, be part of the unofficial
establishment, part of the political landscape, that they are good enough and ready
to be in Parliament, that they are politicians.
Wake up and
don’t go to sleep. The jobs of opposition politicians did not stop at
Parliament or doing town council works. It is a continuous process, a never
ending process. It does not stop after a GE.