Last week, I found myself in a situation that is becoming more and more familiar in South African society. The topic of voting. I was parking in Braamfontein, an area which is now the definition of urban gentrification, and I had a brief, yet important chat to the Park n Pay employee. I asked her why the streets were so filthy, and yet I pay for parking per half hour, and surely this should justify spotless pavements and roads surrounding this area. This conversation led to the issue of government being broached, as do many conversations about litter, inefficiency and corruption, just to mention a few.
The lady who helped me was of the opinion that the ANC have clearly failed at their task of improving South Africa post Apartheid, and that the time has come for a change. When I proceeded to ask her who she will be voting for in the future elections, she responded with the catalyst for this article, 'no one'.
In my opinion, this attitude will be damaging to our country. Let’s look at it from a practical point of view. Let’s say there are 1 million people in a country. 60% of those people vote for the ruling party, 20% of people vote for another up and coming party, and the remainder of people vote for an assortment of small parties. The party that wins 60% of votes has lost votes since the last election due to non-performance and misrepresentation of promises. In the next election, 10% of the 60% decide that that time has come for a change of leadership due to the factors aforementioned, and say that they would rather not vote than vote for the ruling party. They further state that they do not believe that any other party is fit enough to run the country.
To add it all up-the ruling party still rules with 50% of votes, and those who were dissatisfied will remain just that. These people, who exist in mass in our country, have got to shift this ignorant, stubborn and short term attitude.
The key to a successful country is opposition. Without opposition, the corrupt ANC will remain in power forever and eventually run South Africa in to the ground. Voting should be an obligation, especially in a country that is as politically unstable as ours.
The only reason that the ANC is in power is because the party represent the struggle. This position is not based on merit or achievement. This needs to stop. Forget about what the ANC represents, they are greedy failures.
Next time you consider voting, vote. Your vote could be the difference between success and failure in South Africa.
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