EDITORIAL — Thank you

The election fever is dying down and many camps are either celebrating their victory or wallowing in their defeat.

While emotions aren’t as high as they were before during the campaign period and the actual election itself, it is easy to forget the men and women who gave so much to ensure this exercise of democracy would be possible.

We are talking about the teachers, the policemen, the soldiers, and the volunteers.

It would be easy for the voters to complain about the heat and humidity as they lined up to vote in the precincts. But the voters were only there for a while; those teachers who had to organize and manage the queues and assist people as they voted were there in those hot and stuffy precincts all day.

Then there were those policemen and soldiers who helped secure the polling places. Those who were in areas where political rivalry was heated faced particular threat to their lives.

Then there were the volunteers who did everything else to make sure the elections proceed without a hitch, whether it was to assist the police in securing polling places, make sure utility services weren’t interrupted, make sure counting machines didn’t fail, address sudden medical emergencies, deliver food and water to teachers, or provide free rides for voters to polling places, among others.

While we don’t want to blow our own horn, we would also like to thank the members of the media who sacrificed sleep to bring the latest numbers to the public even at the latest of hours.

While some of those who helped make the election possible get an honorarium for the services they rendered, the bigger reward itself is the conduct of another successful election.

We should never forget that being able to vote for the leaders that we want is the very core of the democratic process itself. We should never underestimate this sacred duty; voting is one of the most impactful things an ordinary citizen can do to improve our country and his or her lot in life.