The myth about splitting the vote

There is constantly the line that ?you are splitting the vote.? 

The electorate has been listening for the past five years to rhetoric based on ?Let?s not have your votes go into the garbage; this is the last exit before the bridge.?

Also under the influence of this rhetoric, a considerable number of people have voted for parties that they do not want or do not think represent them. 

A big majority vote for certain political parties, but if we were to say, ?List the names of the Istanbul parliamentarians,? how many of the electorate could really list them by name?

Yet we should not only elect parties but people who will really represent us in the parliament. We have to be in a position to say to our representative, ?Our vote is for you, in return, you should hear me, see me, represent me and be accountable to me.?

This is especially important when we know that an independent candidate is much more suitable for the spirit of democracy in this political climate.

Democracy should not be just about going to the ballot box once every four years and raising and lowering your hand in parliament under the direction of a leader.

We need an understanding of citizenship and representation that goes much beyond that for a genuine civilian politics. 

In contrast to other parliamentarians, there is no need for an independent representative that entered parliament to think about ?what the leader would say? or take into consideration intra-party balances and power games.

The sole obstruction in front of independent candidates is not just the conviction that it ?splits the votes,? but also the perception that they cannot bring about change. But change can come with independent parliamentarians who are...