The power of a single vote goes a long way and this fact is no secret to an average voter. It has been said countless times to jerk South Africans into voting and choosing their government. The truth about South Africa is this; there are only two parties that are competing in the elections, namely the DA and the ANC. The rest of the ballot paper is filled with parties that do not have any policies whatsoever and are usually lifeless during non-election periods. My dilemma with this is that what if, as a South African voter, the two do not appeal to you? What do you do?
I did something about it in the last elections which caused quite a stir amongst some of my friends who, if you must know, are obstinate ANC patriots. I simply didn’t vote. If memory serves me correctly, statistics from the NEC stated that 40% of voters did not vote in the last election as compared to the elections conducted prior to them. That is a huge number by anyone’s standards.
It is no secret that our current government has done nothing to uplift South Africa but have torn it apart instead. Whenever I debate with an ANC voter (an easy debate) I usually point out that they shouldn’t complain because they voted for the current government but I get the same attitude back – “do not complain either because you didn’t vote” and this always leaves me with something to think about. Should I have voted to have the right to voice my opinions? Has my actions taken that right away? Should I vote for a different party from the ANC just for the sake of voting or am I right in being a stay-away voter?
I always try to answer this question by defining what voting means to me. It means approval. “I approve your policies as the right ones to govern me and the people of South Africa. I approve your actions, ambitions, plans and vision for the country. I approve you as the right man for the job”.
Part of me feels I am right to be a stay away voter. I do not approve the DA nor the ANC’s actions, ambitions, plans and/or policies as the right ones to govern me and the people of South Africa. I would go deeper into why I do not approve of the DA (since the ANC is so blatantly obvious) but I do not wish to make this about DA policies. To cut a long story short, I feel they have also failed to show (using the Western Cape) how to create new wealth, help the poor uplift themselves and have all Western Cape inhabitants or at least their voters enjoy the same access to basic services.
With that being said, should I have voted anyways because my vote is my voice?
But you see, I think I did vote. In a different way I did. My voice said “I am not happy with any of you and if you want my approval, you will have to listen up”. While most South Africans view political parties like they view sports teams (You said you were a Blue bulls or Orlando Pirates supporter so you can’t change what you said), I view political parties as I view new recruits coming for a job interview. Your work experience and achievements say a lot about you and I need to review and do background checks before I can put my stamp of approval on your name. If, however, I do not come across a good candidate for the job, I unfortunately cannot take the best of the worst. This of course leaves some sort of void to be filled and I believe this is a void that will act as a voice of the citizen – “We deserve better”.
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