The ‘observer’ Africans living in SA who envy our unappreciated freedom
Rwandan refugee Gabriel Hertis has never voted in his life, but will forever cherish the chance he now has to get closer to the elections process through taking part as a volunteer observer.
Image: ANA
For many years since fleeing his homeland, then torn by genocide and civil war while still in his early 20s, and subsequently arriving in South Africa some two decades ago, Hertis watched locals becoming caught up in the elections hype.
He could only wonder what went on behind the walls, beyond what he saw on television. Then he got an opportunity to be closer to the elections process than he could have ever imagined. He learnt that the South African Jewish Board of Deputies’ (SAJBD) was looking for people to join their multinational and interfaith elections observer group.
“I have never voted in my life, but here was an opportunity to be part of it all, something I could find solace and some sense of consolidation in. I could not let this great opportunity pass me by,” says Hertis. “I may not be a voter but I am there to ensure democracy prevails; and that elections are free and fair. Being part of this team has become a learning curve for most of us who have never experienced elections before and I am intending to continue being part of it”.
Siphiwe Khumalo from Vryheid, KwaZulu-Natal, is more than ready for the latest round of elections, in which he will once again be part of the SAJBD’s election observer team.
“Many people ask me why I waste my time doing this, sometimes even using my own resources moving between voting stations and not getting paid. I reply that, for me, it is my own way of contributing to democracy,” he says.
Hertis stresses that the role of observers is not to run the elections but to observe the proceedings to ensure that everything is done fairly and correctly. However, this does not mean, as he puts it, that they will “fold their arms and do nothing” if a helping hand is needed to offload any elections material, or anything of that sort.
As an observer, Hertis enjoys access to voting stations and thus gets to witness everything that goes on inside.
Observers are also present when the ballots are counted and they make inputs into the process of declaring the results.
In just over a month, South Africans will descend once more on polling stations countrywide for the national and provincial elections. When they do, Hertis, Khumalo and the other members of the team will be there to not only witness democracy in action but be a part of it.
They will see voters arrive, get verified and obtain their ballot papers before proceeding to the privacy of the voting booth to record their votes.
On this, Hertis comments: “I always look at them as they get behind the booth, where they have one last moment and actually take their time in making their final decision before putting their X in the appropriate space.
“They display different facial expressions and gestures as they emerge from the booth, fold their ballot and drop it in the box,” he says.
If there is one thing Hertis would change if he could, it is the attitude of South African youth towards elections.
“Increasingly, young people are not voting. They appear to have totally lost interest.
“I cannot vote and find myself hankering after this great privilege, yet they treat it like a game,” he says.
Malawian native Dominic Chipwayira will be doing it for the first time in May and he is looking forward to it.
“I have been in South Africa for almost three decades and have never voted in Malawi. I have decided to join those ensuring the SA elections are credible, free and fair,” he says.
– news@citizen.co.za
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