Working Together We Can Achieve More.” “Vote to Win.” “A House for Everyone.” These are some of the slogans of some of the nearly 100 political parties in South Africa that are currently trying to convince the public that they are the party to best lead the country. The April 22 election, now less than a month away, could be the most significant election in South Africa since Nelson Mandela’s election in 1994. So here is a quick rundown of politics in South Africa.
Unlike in America, where we vote for presidential candidates, South African citizens only vote for political parties. There is only one question on the ballot. You mark which party you like the best — or perhaps dislike the least — and that is it. Just imagine if by voting for a party in the United States, you would then by default be supporting everyone in that party. Yikes! The representation in the Parliament is proportional to the percentage of votes that a party gets. Right before the election, each party publishes an ordered list of proposed candidates. For all the seats that the party wins, it will go right down the list and those people will fill the available seats. The party with the largest percentage gets to choose the president and then the president chooses all of his ministers.
Since 1994, the African National Congress has ruled the country. This year, however, there is a new party that might present a legitimate challenge to the ANC’s dominance. The Congress of the People is a party that broke away from the ANC this fall. This split was in response to the ANC recalling then-President Thabo Mbeki, forcing his resignation. Because COPE is a party of former ANC members, it will likely garner some of the support the ANC previously enjoyed, which has created a divide in the country. Even the name “COPE” is controversial because in 1955, the ANC held a conference called Congress of the People, during which it adopted one of its founding documents, the Freedom Charter. The ANC tried to sue for copyright violations but lost in the South African High Court.
The main reason this election might be a turning point for South Africa is that the ANC’s candidate for president, Jacob Zuma, is currently standing trial for corruption charges stemming from an arms deal while he was South Africa’s vice president. It is believed that Zuma will try to change the constitution so that he cannot be put on trial if he has the chance. To change the constitution in South Africa, there must be two-thirds approval of Parliament. Right now, the ANC is hovering around 60 to 65 percent support according to the polls. This means that if the ANC wins two-thirds of the vote, then it will have that majority in Parliament and thus can change the constitution however it pleases. Hence, the percentage of the country that votes for the ANC is absolutely critical.
Another significant issue for the parties to address is the upcoming soccer World Cup. The World Cup is coming to South Africa in a little more than a year. There are a lot of issues, including crime and transportation, which must be improved if the World Cup is going to be successful, and currently the parties are pitching their plans to show off their country to the rest of the world.
Right now, it is fun being an observer, and I have enjoyed talking to people about how they feel about the election. I think the most surprising thing is some people’s lack of interest, given the fact that the majority of the adult population only has been enfranchised for 15 years. Don’t get me wrong — there are plenty of people who are very passionate about the election. They just aren’t found in the large cities.
Tomorrow, I leave Durban for Ladysmith, a town about four hours away from Durban. I will be performing an Independent Study Project by working in the Emergency Room of Ladysmith Provincial Hospital. It should be interesting being outside the city for one of the most important and controversial elections in South Africa’s history.
Megan’s column runs biweekly on Tuesdays. She can be reached at m.stiles@cavalierdaily.com.
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