Should a country by law require its citizens to vote in the general elections
I believe law should not require their citizens to vote in the general elections. Forcing everyone to vote in the general elections is not good for a democracy. The citizens vote for their own benefit and if they do not wish to vote then it should be their choice. If a person is apolitical then he would have to forcibly vote for some party even if he doesn’t wish to. The citizens who are indifferent towards the work done by the government would vote for anyone without giving much though to it. These decisions will be harmful to the elections as it may disambiguate in results and may result in victory of a party which is not favoured by the politically active citizens. It can also lead to anarchy in the country if no individual party finds majority in the parliament because of unequal division of vote between the various parties.
Forcing someone to vote can be considered as oppressive because a person would not have hurt someone or damaged some public property by not voting. It is a voluntary activity which is dependent on the mindset of the voter. The people who vote are the people who are acquainted with the current affairs and their opinion matters the most because their decision is well thought out. The least the legislature can do is to put voting in the fundamentals duties but if the people are still unwilling then it is their decision. The government can make the citizens aware of their duties but it is up to the citizens who wish to exercise their right or not. In the end freedom of expression means not only providing voters the right to vote but also the right to not vote.
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