BT Poll: Winning candidate should have results-oriented team
Let me introduce myself, if you’ve not known earlier. I served the Sri Lankan Army for more than three decades, seen all actions, retired in 2014, migrated with my family and living in Canada. I am really concerned over the politics back home and involved here with the diversified community.
Your survey of the winning candidate’s quality/attributes seems to be very simple, all five need as well as should possess but having said that, do you feel or believe any one of the candidates will possess at least some of the five. So, it becomes a mere exercise rather than reality check. Hence, I thought of penning a few lines of points to ponder.
What role does the presidential candidate character traits play in a voter’s decision? The answer is obvious for media as well as journalists, the opinion polls frequently differentiate candidates in terms of their personal qualities and their track record. Campaign strategists do play a major role and ardently support the manipulative beliefs created by incidents that happen closer to the polls. In debates, candidate’s party representatives routinely attack the integrity, honesty, and leadership credentials of their rival candidates and as such inherently praise their own. Casual political conversations among citizens often pivot on candidates’ personalities. When pressed to explain why someone supports a candidate, personal attributes are often offered as a central reason. For example, after an elaborated opening ceremony of the Lotus Tower building, some credit will be given to the successful completion while little is said about a monument that will determine the Chinese influence over the island.
Now going through past records, who can stand across the candidates as an honest, trustworthy, real person. It’s sad to say that voters despite knowing the sea being wild and the waves rolling away from the shore, get caught to the tide except for few returns most drown away with the rift … So honestly what I see is that the faulty system cannot produce any honest candidate. You don’t have to necessarily agree with anyone’s policy but is anyone interested in solving the contemporary issues. The conventional wisdom holds that a candidate’s character influences vote decisions; inspiring and promising. Yet after the election, successful candidates break all promises.
Organisational Leadership
Presidents depend on a large team of advisers to help them make informed policy decisions. A good quality for a candidate is the ability to organise an effective team and then get as much as possible out of that team. The president should be able and willing to debate with advisers on the merits of a given decision in order to bring in as many different viewpoints to important decisions as possible.
Some attributes of the candidates can be:
Be transparent, acknowledge and
accept the fault/weakness
No one is perfect but should be able to accept their past and be able to see the future with a new perception. The systems are such; the courts prolong justice and the commissions hide truth under the carpet.
Personality and virtues
Voters often look for personal moral character of the presidential candidate which is projected by the media. How can you assess the perceived honesty and trustworthiness of the candidates? On most occasions the voters won’t be able to have perfect knowledge about a candidate's trustworthiness, hence they may make a value judgment based on available information.
Respect for people and the
Constitution
The diversity of the people and their concerns have to be respected. The candidate should have the knowledge of the language as well as their aspirations. Constitution is the most important founding document and candidates should have the knowledge and protect such document which gives the legal boundaries for executive power which was misused on many occasions.
Knowledgeable about issues and
concerns of the public
A presidential candidate should be knowledgeable about the contemporary issues of the day and able to discuss them freely with the media and the public. The more informed a candidate is on the issues, the more detailed he or she can be in policy prescriptions and vision for the future. The president has to deal with a lot of different and difficult issues simultaneously -- ranging from polices to unplanned crisis events. A flexible accommodative mind is an essential asset because it will be the personality of the president, the public will look upon in a crisis.