Elections

Some of the several promotional posters of the electoral candidates. Riyan said Pereppadan Baby was going to be one of his top votes simply because he loved the name. He was joking, of course. Though I don't know who his top choices were in the end. Pereppadan Baby looked a lot like my lecturer back in CMM though. My coursemates would probably know who I'm talking about. :)

The elections here seem so different from back home. For one, nobody seems to be bothered as much. You don't hear people walking around discussing about the new political party in power or indulging in deeper discussions about who has the most relevant ideas for today's Ireland and so on. However, they do have more choices, and everyone gets to vote over a new TD (Teachta Dála, a term for the local Members of Parliament-MPs). At the same time, they're also voting for their own local TDs into the MEP seats (Member of European Parliament).

In Singapore, you only have your local elections to worry about and more often than not, certain "strong" areas would hardly be contested and you end up not having to vote. And we definitely have no say in who gets into ASEAN. Though people back home do create a much bigger fuss about local elections, with people having heated discussions about "the future of Singapore". Also, it's only "optional" for people here to vote instead of "compulsory" as in back home. The ages differ as well. Irish citizens start voting at the age of 18, while Singaporeans start at the age of 21.

Both political systems seem to differ so much but it probably "worked" to achieve different goals in different countries. Singapore may not have a "western democracy" but we have our own style which has worked well for the country. To each his own, it seems. Different leadership with different goals to achieve.