Kofi Annan Quotes

When citizens have no political way to deal with revolution, they become counter-revolutionary.

The so called “Arab Spring” … is really a situation which is creating more threats so far than positive incentives.

Let the people decide whom to vote for, who has more authority. And only people, only our citizens, are able to place the final emphasis, voting for this or that person or political force, or rejecting it. That's democracy.

Democracy is more than a ballot box.

The way to address our grievances is to engage in that most revolutionary of activities—voting.

We can not have free government without elections. And if the rebellion could force us to forgo, or postpone a national election, it might fairly claim to have conquered or ruined us.

Your vote is your voice.

In many respects we now live in a society that is only formally democratic, as the great mass of citizens have minimal say on the major public issues of the day, and such issues are scarcely debated at all in any meaningful sense in the electoral arena

If you sit on the sidelines [and not vote], you are responsible for what happens.

In a democracy, when you have 20 million people in the street, you resign. Unfortunately, we don’t have a process of recall or impeachment as you have. It was a popular uprising rejecting Mr. Morsi’s continuing in power. Unfortunately, people had to call on the army to intervene. The army had to intervene because short of that, we would have ended up in a civil war.

Rebellions broke out, from the full-scale political revolution of Dorr’s rebellion in Rhode Island to urban violence and protest, often by out of work whites taking out their anger on African Americans or Irish Americans. In response, leaders had to come to terms with the role of force in a democracy.

Real change begins with citizens registering to vote, becoming active and engaged in their communities, and casting their ballot at every election for those who will fairly and accurately represent them.

The Arab world is erupting, which is extraordinary, and to see it happen is like watching rings spreading on a pool - it goes out; it varies so much. The spontaneity is wonderful, but very often, if it's not well organized, it breaks up, and it peters out.

If people don't like me, I insist they can vote for someone else. The only stupid thing we can do is to stay at home. I don't know a single election in the world that was changed by staying at home.

Whatever changes a common man wants to bring in the country, he can bring it through the process of voting.

A vote should be generative, not like business as usual, which is what voting feels like for most of us.

My fear is of the message we put out to millions of voters is that if change is not initiated through the ballot box, then they may regard disappointment in that as a trigger to initiate other methods of change.

The one sure way of participating in the process of nation-building is to vote on the election day.

There is a lack of interest in voting in the United States, and that troubles me. It is very necessary that people get registered, study the issues and be aware of the politics of our country. We will really be set back if people don't take the time to learn about the candidates who are concerned about the well-being of all the citizens and vote.

If the people fail to vote, a government will be developed which is not their government... The whole system of American Government rests on the ballot box. Unless citizens perform their duties there, such a system of government is doomed to failure.

Voting is fundamental in our democracy. It has yielded enormous returns.

I love voting day. I love the sight of my fellow citizens lining up to make their voices heard.

There are ways to pursue political change. In a democracy, it's through the ballot box. There are other ways, and many democracies have many different systems of democracy.

It is a paradox that far too few Americans participate in the wonderful ritual of democracy that we call Election Day.

Elections are an enduring spectacle of free India, and have provided foreign journalists with the opportunity to remind the world that India remains the world's largest democracy.