And then there was silence. Or so it seems.
The election campaign came to an end last night. As of midnight, the political parties can no longer call on the electorate for their vote.
Their job is now done, and the people will be deciding tomorrow.
It will perhaps be the quietest day, especially for politicians, who will probably catch up with some deserved rest after weeks, if not months, of
campaigning.
They will be in for another two or three hectic days as from tomorrow, voting day, and Sunday and probably Monday, when the votes will be counted and the results made known. And therefore they need to get some sleep over the next 24 hours to make up for that lost over the past weeks and that which will be lost over the weekend.
Newspapers are today devoid of any political content. What happened and what was said yesterday in a bid to attract votes cannot be reported, and television and radio stations will today find the going tough to fill up their air-time, just as much as it was difficult for the print media to fill up the pages today.
The day of silence is a tradition which we have kept, although its significance today is rather limited. In a day and age when technology and communications have become so important in our everyday lives, one questions the validity of having this day during which no official activities can be organised by the political parties and the media cannot report them.
It is said that the day of silence is for the people to contemplate on who they are going to vote for. But hands up those who have not yet decided. Can it be believed that there are still people who do not know what they will be doing with their vote tomorrow?
And, after all, is there real silence? Has the campaigning really stopped?
Maltapost, for example, has made it clear that it will not be delivering any political material today and tomorrow, and we are sure that it will abide by the rules. But who will be stopping people from hand-delivering leaflets and other material to promote their candidates? Incidentally, how come candidates have not yet realised that they are wasting their money, as in 99 per cent of the cases this material ends up in the bin without being read?
Secondly, the billboards that have been put up by the parties will remain in place on this day of silence right through till after the results are known. The billboards contain political messages, don’t they? So isn’t this campaigning on the day of silence too?
Thirdly, with the fastest means of communication being the internet and emails, it will not be a surprise if today modern technology continues to be used to pass on political messages. We have all been bombarded with emails containing political content and we will still continue to receive them today. Web sites, in particular those run by political parties or candidates, will still carry political material. Isn’t this campaigning too?
Likewise, we have all received SMS texts informing us of activities to be held by candidates – a questionable exercise, considering that mobile numbers are private and people have the right not to give them out. Will any be sent today and, if this happens, wouldn’t it be a form of campaigning too?
Officially, it is a day of silence. No political activities can be held, and none can be reported. It is a strange day for a country where politics is part and parcel of each and every aspect of our lives.