Perspective: Where are the Born Frees?

The 2019 national elections are less than a month away. Crikey, where did the time go!

I wish I could have voted in 1994.

Of course I was just eight years old at the time, but imagine taking part in one of the most significant moments in South African history!

Young as I was, I do remember the excitement even if I didn’t understand the immense weight of what was taking place. A democracy was being born.

The TV was on all day showing snaking queues of people that seemed to go on for ever.

Black, Indian, white and coloured stood shoulder to shoulder as equals to cast their vote.

I may have been too young to take part but I have never lost the sense of privilege to be a young person coming of age in a vibrant democracy, full of possibility.

Twenty-five years later and it feels like the almost sacred covenant that ordinary South Africans made with their political parties to lead them into a better, united tomorrow has been violated by greed and corruption.

Faith in the democratic system is at an all-time low.

And it’s the young people who are taking the most strain.

Based on latest voting age population estimates from Statistics South Africa, the current voters’ roll reflects a total registration by 74.5% of the eligible population. That leaves about 9.8m eligible voters who are still not registered, of which about 6m are under 30 years old.

For this country’s people to carve out a better future we need the Born Frees to stand up and be counted.

Casting your vote is not only your democratic right and privilege, refusing to make your mark is, in my humble opinion, to spit on the world-changing victory wrought by the likes of Nelson Mandela.

An eye-opening article by The Citizen on Sunday revealed how non-South African’s view this privilege.

They interviewed Rwandan refugee Gabriel Hertis, who has never voted in his life and longs to do so.

Living in SA he decided to get closer to the elections process through taking part as a volunteer observer.

“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,” said Hertis.

Hertis has been denied this privilege so he understands that it is not to be taken for granted.

For what its worth here’s my guide to voting in the up-coming elections:

1. Vote for the party, not the man

Well-known columnist Solly Moeng made an excellent point at the recent Caxton Editors conference where he pointed out that the way our democratic process works, when you vote you don’t vote for a person, but for a political party.

Cyril Ramaphosa may be a nice guy but should the ANC decide to remove him then he’s gone.

Don’t choose your party by the face on the street poster. It’s the party that you will be stuck with in the long-term.

2. Politicians lie to get ahead

Don’t believe anything you hear come election time.

The politicians are all singing the tune they think will garner the most votes.

Like the EFF’s outrageous promise to replace every single pit latrine in the country in a single year.

3. No vote is wasted

The saying goes that “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

SA uses a Proportional Representation (PR) system for the national and provincial elections in an effort to prevent this from happening.

This system awards seats to parties according to the percentage of votes each party receives.

There are 400 seats in the national parliament. So for every 0.25% of the vote a party gets one seat.

So, I don’t buy the argument of the bigger parties that a vote for a small party is a waste.

MPs of small parties still make excellent contributions to parliament.

A party needs only about 30 000 to 50 000 votes (depending on the voter turnout) to get a seat.

The more variety, the more power is shared and no one party can do what it likes, the stronger our democracy.

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Politicians are like diapers: they should be changed often, and for the same reason.

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