Voting in South Africa

It’s only a matter of months before South Africans head to the voting stations across the country to cast their votes.

When South Africans first casts their votes in 1994 after apartheid regime – they hoped to have been voting for a political party that would take them out of the misery of the apartheid rule where the majority were oppressed by the minority, white.

It needs to be emphasised that one cannot recall any of the apartheid activities that took place then; it however, is through others’ experiences at the time that one can base one’s conclusion or analysis of some sort. Furthermore, one needs to take into account that this analysis may not go unchallenged.

Majority of South Africans during the first democratic election – which did not witness violent activities or actions as did in recent times in Africa and other parts of the world – voted for African National Congress (ANC) hoping to deliver them from minority oppression.

Despite this having taken place almost, if not more than, 15 years ago South Africans who voted then still live in unbearable poverty conditions and their lives only changed a little while that of others got even worse or poorer.

The ANC needs to be commended on its achievements for far – despite some having taken the entire 15 years to deliver on while other have not been delivered in other parts of the country to date – and needs to find working solutions to the challenges it faces ahead not only as a political party or movement as its members claim, but as a country moving forward.

The opposition of opposition parties, instead of alternative parties, have not helped and are not helping much in taking SA forward. And instead, its opposition to a certain extent seems to be taking the country backward, where no one wants to go.

Hopefully as different Manifestos are communicated to the masses of our people country-wide – those masses will sit down and think, or at least try to, and analysis these manifestos as to how much flexible are they, and if they are likely to achieve what they are set to achieve.

And as a result, masses of our people will be alleviated from the daily poverty they live under.

Most importantly we should be very careful as voters of not voting people into power – who will only abuse such power and use it to their advantages, or their friends’ – but vote politically transformed parties will able; capable, responsible, informed, change- and people-driven leaders who will move this country forward.

This, my Dream, the South Africa Dream which I am and will continue to be a part of and contribute to: through debates or writing in this blog.

For curiosity: A resent judgement has allowed South Africa living overseas/abroad they right to vote (if they are registered to vote, and that Independent Electoral Commission must make it possible for them to vote while in their respective cities or countries of resident. Therefore, how they bring change to South Africa when they presently do not live in it, and instead, opted to find greener pastures and live elsewhere, except their country of origin/birth, South Africa?