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The general elections have come and gone, and many different lessons and interpretations have emerged – and many more will materialise as the data continue to be refined and presented.
In short, our democracy is maturing and there is much to be proud of – but also much room for improvement.
Despite all the challenges they faced and the threats they encountered when various charges of irregularities were raised, the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) dealt with these swiftly and decisively.
They did South Africa proud.
However, some things did not seem to make sense or square up, including:
. A total of 48 parties participated, but South Africans seem to want a certain party to get more than 60% of the popular vote. If citizens are clamouring for a multiparty democracy, they should not want a single dominant party at the same time;
. Why is it that, after the spectacular and almost miraculous victory by the ANC, the media continues to drive a negative narrative of “decline” in the governing party, while ignoring or being silent about the obvious systemic and serious decline of the DA, the main opposition? Is this not subliminal or subtle racism that is so pervasive in our daily life?
The IEC said that 17 671 616 votes were cast, which represents 49.12% of the total possible votes.
We must work hard to bring not only political vibrancy back, but also better participation in our hard-won democracy.
Our government is for the “people and by the will of the people”, and not for the “party by the will of people”.
The reflection and expression of the “will of the people” is fussy and not directly correlated. We need to correct this to elect representatives who embody the “will of the people”.
The ANC’s 57.5% win of the total votes cast means that it has kept its record of successive electoral victories intact.
The electorate is complaining that the ANC is in decline – it has fallen below the magical figure of 60%, yet no one explains why we are wedded to a 60% win for the ANC, or why 60% is so important a percentage in any election.
Only in the republic does such a meaningless statistic assume such great significance.
Maybe there are many who subconsciously wish the ANC would disappear. This wish is unlikely to materialise because, as former president Jacob Zuma said, “the ANC will rule fully until Jesus comes back”.
What is significant is how the media, through opinion polls such as that from the SA Institute of Race Relations, have subtly overplayed this ANC decline while underplaying the DA’s systemic decline.
However, and more importantly, the electorate has sent a very simple message to the governing party: “Do not take us for granted; start to govern and be in charge; and stop the looting of the state.”
The DA came second with 20.77% of the vote – 1.46% down from 2014.
The DA lost its opposition status in KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and North West; and failed to win the Northern Cape and Gauteng as promised.
More importantly, the DA failed to obtain a 60% majority in the Western Cape.
By any measure, these are not only significant but spectacular failures from the official opposition.
These failures call for an overhaul of many aspects of the party, from vision and policy to the behaviour of the party in the eyes of the electorate.
Most South Africans still see the DA as a party of white privilege; a party of closet racists hiding under the veneer of liberalism; a party of the past white supremacist colonial ideology; a party that carefully selects black people who serve and front white interests rather than the majority’s interests; a party with internal contradictions; and a party that is in denial of its reality in a changed sociopolitical environment.
For the DA to be representative of the majority of South Africans, the transformation drivers must dethrone the white conservatives.
The DA has no message of inspiration or hope for the electorate; or the electorate is deaf to whatever the message is; or the message is existentially irrelevant to the electorate.
The most important illness it must treat is that it denies its problems exist.
The EFF came third with 10.79% – up from 6.35% in 2014. It has grown in its image and in style. It is clearly a party of the future.
It has given hope to and energised a significant part of the electorate. The potential for its growth among young people is unlimited. Its message resonates with and electrifies the electorate.
Could the continued rise and competitive nature of the EFF spell the death of the DA as the main opposition?
Could the rise of the EFF change the perceived arrogance of the ANC and the “taking for granted attitude of the ANC on service delivery”?
Could the rise of the EFF hasten the return of Jesus and shorten the ANC’s governance period?
Whatever the EFF has done has been positive for South Africa’s democracy. It has clearly shown what youngsters can do when properly organised; when they are led well and have a defined vision and purpose.
Perhaps while celebrating 25 years of democracy, we should celebrate the birth and arrival of the EFF into our body politic.
The EFF carries the hopes of many into the future as a growing political force. It needs nurturing and support to grow. With 18.3 million possible voters available, its prospects are good.
That 48 parties participated in the election is problematic.
Five of the main parties share 94.82% of the total seats in Parliament and nine parties share the other 4.18%, but 34 of the registered parties have no representation.
This suggests that there are many political chance-takers and some leaders see parliamentary representation as an easy entry into “state looting – a loota continua”.
We should take pride in the IEC and its work, but our media should “mind its language” and narrative in telling our story.
Makgoba is a professor, deputy chair of the National Planning Commission and the health ombudsman
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