Chasing down a vote

2009-05-14 10:35

Georgina Guedes

My daughter was due on April 21. This meant that there was a fairly good probability that on voting day, I would be at home awaiting the first pangs of labour, in the hospital with my newborn, or actually in the throes of childbirth.

All three scenarios made it pretty unlikely that I would be trotting happily off to the voting station to make my X. Another pregnant friend pointed me to a section on the IEC website that allowed for a special vote for ill or pregnant people.

My husband and I downloaded the forms and popped in to our nearest IEC office to drop them off.

There were a couple of snags. The first was that we wanted to arrange a special vote for my husband as well, because if he was holding my sweaty hand and yelling "push", he was likewise unlikely to make it to the voting station, but the form only applied to pregnant or infirm people.

The IEC official told us not to worry, and that they made allowances for caregivers of people needing a special vote, and when they would come to take mine, along with observers from every party (in my lounge!), they would allow my husband to vote as well.

The next part that caused concern was the address we were required to provide for the special vote. Since I was either going to be at home or in the hospital, I couldn't commit to being in one place or another.

Change of plans

This posed a bit more consternation for the IEC official, until she handed over the telephone number of the special voting manager, and told us to call him a couple of days in advance to confirm, if he hadn't called us to arrange a time.

Satisfied that we had done what we needed to do to participate in democracy in action, we went home with clear consciences to await the arrival of our baby.

As it turned out, she arrived by emergency caesarean a full week earlier than she was due, but since we had just come home with a very tiny newborn, we decided to still use our special vote.

We received no call from the IEC. Eventually, on the afternoon of 22 April, when we had heard nothing, we called the official, who confessed that they were snowed under and that he would not be able to come and take our vote.

He told us to use his name, and push to the front of the queue at our voting station, which we did, without a hiccup, swinging our daughter in her car seat.

I'm glad she partook, however unwittingly, in that election. I have great hopes for her that, as a citizen of the world, she will love South Africa as much as we do.

Hoping SA flourishes

Casting our vote had particular significance for us this year, because we weren't voting for ourselves and our lives, but for our daughter's future as well.

I have noticed that the South African media have made peace with the democratic results of the election, and everyone - even Zapiro - has committed to giving Jacob Zuma a chance as president.

This gentler approach to the man has made for a calmer political landscape, and one filled with a measure of hope. Let's all hope that South Africa flourishes under the rule of a man who was placed in power by free and fair elections.

Georgina Guedes is a freelance journalist. She learnt on election day that someone at home affairs registered her with her husband's surname, despite her desire to retain her maiden name.

Send your comments to Georgina.

Disclaimer: News24 encourages freedom of speech and the expression of diverse views. The views of columnists published on News24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of News24.

- News24