It will not be lost on anyone that this year is going to be etched into the memory of almost each and every one of us in Maldives for one very simple reason; the much anticipated, much controversy-ridden presidential election of 2018.
Maldives has not seen that many of multiple party involved elections. That all started 10 years back in 2008, when Mohamed Nasheed became the first democratically elected president after a multi-party contest.
Meaning a decade ago the tradition of political leaders making grandeur promises and 'churning' out pledges under their said administrations came to inception.
Each presidential contestant and their running-mate would voice out their campaign pledges on public podiums and large rallies. Each candidate tried their best to one-up the other, and that meant the public got to listen to some sensational promises along the way.
Some have come to fruition while the others have been swept under the rug, like forgotten chapters of the past. These leaders, the high and mighty, will try everything at their disposal to keep those 'empty promises' away.
But the public does not prove to be a helpful lot as they do a pretty banged up job in completely ignoring the promises that were never delivered. They are more than willing to forget that crucial pledges never came to fruition. Pledges or promises that would have enhanced communities or the entire society of Maldives.
To find one specific answer to why many discard national or public interest is difficult. Greed? Selfishness? To ascertain any one of those reasons can be a troubling matter since none would accept any of their vices.
"Never make a promise you cannot keep!" a powerful sentence often imparted as wisdom by the elderly to the youngsters. Older generations blessing the newer generations with importance code-of-life to follow by.
But the relative hypocrisy laced when it comes to our favored political leaders or head of states failing on their promises or going back on their word is appalling.
"He is only human, and he cannot achieve all that within a single term!" another sentiment that is pushed forth by sympathizers of any specific political ideology or affiliates of any specific political party.
What is funny is that if you place a leader from the opposition's end, they will be ostracized. Such is our mentality towards accepting our leaders' failure to deliver on their promises.
However, to place rationality into this debate one must also need to understand that political promises or campaign pledges should be logical ones. Anyone can make sensational claims of 'doing this' or 'doing that' but when push comes to shove, what really should matter to us is whether the government we entrusted with the prosperity of our beloved nation is delivering on their promises of a better tomorrow or not.
