Nepal, Feb. 17 -- In a totalitarian regime or an undemocratic country, I would not be able to write this article. That is the beauty of democracy. It tolerates dissent. It protects criticism. It allows citizens to question power without fear of disappearance at midnight.

Elections matter because they institutionalize peaceful succession. They give citizens a legitimate mechanism to choose leaders, limit authority, and correct political direction without violence. Modern democracy rests on this ritual of consent. The ballot is not merely a tool. It is a signal that power flows upward from the governed.

However, in an age shaped by agentic artificial intelligence, the meaning of political choice is shifting. For the new generations, polit...