Election day blues are a myth. Those actively involved in campaigning dont feel anything on the day of the ballot itself. Those activists are too het up, too exhausted already from months of working flat out. They have poured their hearts and souls into winning and until the very last ballot has been cast, the very last vote counted and indeed recounted, there is no time to feel. All they can do until then is act because sitting around moping doesnt get you anywhere. You have to work to win.

The day after an election, when the result is certain, a few inexperienced individuals may mourn. But, for the seasoned veteran, it is business as usual. The battle may have been lost, but the war continues. It may, of course, be with a heavier heart than before, but the joy about defeat in an election is that there will always be another chance in the future. That is the beauty of democracy: nothing is terminal unless you live within a dictatorship and, if you do, you can always start planning that coup.

If, on the other hand, you are one of the many people sitting at home disappointed that the result was not the one you desired, take heart. Come and join the privileged group of campaigners I talk of and next time, or perhaps the time after that, the result could be the right one. People often say that their voice would not make a difference, but if every person thought like that not one thing would ever get done. Power is won and lost one vote at a time.