Vicious circle of vote-buying and the guilt of conscience

Chinua Achebe is better known as a novelist, but one of his short stories “The Voter”, cleverly illustrates the problem that often confronts voters in a typical African electoral cycle.

The main character in the story (published in 1965, but which, sadly, remains familiar) is Rufus Okeke, a party mobiliser for a candidate seeking a parliamentary re-election. Rufus is the indefatigable, trusted right-hand man, who works the ground for his boss, Marcus.