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On April 10 1993, SA Communist Party leader and chief of staff of Umkhonto weSizwe Chris Hani was gunned down outside his home in an assassination planned by a right wing Afrikaner.
South Africa and the world held their breath to see whether all that had been achieved in negotiations would be swept away in a backlash from an outraged and grieving nation.
At that moment of crisis, Nelson Mandela spoke to the nation: “This is a watershed moment for all of us. Our decisions and actions will determine whether we use our pain, our grief and our outrage to move forward to what is the only lasting solution for our country – an elected government of the people, by the people and for the people.”
A year later, South Africa went to the polls for its historic first democratic elections and the rest is history.
For a number of reasons, I have thought much of that moment this year.
First, in March this year, as we approached the 23rd anniversary of Hani’s death, there was the news that his assassin, Janusz Walus, was to be paroled, sparking considerable public debate.
Then, in June, we marked what would have been Hani’s 74th birthday.
But I have also thought of that watershed moment on other occasions as we prepared for the 2016 municipal elections.
I thought of it when protesters in Vuwani burnt down schools and threatened that elections would not take place.
I thought about it when buses were burning in the streets of Tshwane and hostels raged in Denver south of Johannesburg over internal party candidate nominations.
I thought of it especially when a number of candidates were gunned down just weeks ahead of the elections.
And I thought about it when the National Freedom Party was disqualified from participation and its bid to have this decision reversed was turned down by the Electoral Court and the Constitutional Court.
Yet, on August 3, every one of the 22 612 voting stations were open and almost 19 million South Africans voted peacefully, freely and fairly in the municipal elections.
Once again the people of South Africa defied the sceptics and rose above the vehement and colourful rhetoric, the robust political party contestations, the tragic and senseless killings of candidates, and the devastating disqualification of a major regional party in KwaZulu-Natal.
On voting day, South Africans came out in large numbers and celebrated the 20th anniversary of our Constitution to vote as they had in 1994 – shoulder to shoulder, black and white, men and women, young and old.
Once again it took great leadership from all political parties to urge supporters to use ballots and not bullets to determine our country’s future.
It took great leadership from those candidates excluded from the ballot to stand aside and let the people decide.
It took great leadership from especially the National Freedom Party to accept the rule of law.
It took leadership from traditional leaders, faith-based leaders, nongovernmental organisations and eminent South Africans.
I wish to single out Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, who outrightly condemned all violence.
After the elections, it took leadership from those who were defeated at the polls to graciously concede defeat. It took leadership from those who emerged successful in the vote to show magnanimity in victory.
But it also took great maturity from the voters to act with responsibility and to follow the clarion call of Nelson Mandela “to move forward to what is the only lasting solution for our country — an elected government of the people, by the people and for the people”.
My eternal thanks and gratitude to every voter, every candidate, every party and every South African for once again showing the world that democracy is deeply rooted and thriving in our land.
As candidates now take up their positions as majorities or as opposition in councils, and as parties negotiate coalitions in hung councils, my appeal is that they continue to heed the words of Mandela after Hani’s assassination: “Now is the time for all South Africans to stand together against those who, from any quarter, wish to destroy what Chris Hani gave his life for – the freedom of all of us.”
Mashinini is the chairperson of the Independent Electoral Commission.
