South Africans Vote, Likely for Status Quo

The New York Times

Published: April 22, 2009

By BARRY BEARAK

Starting to line up soon after midnight, by 4:30 a.m. the South African voters formed lines of thousand people long. Thomas Baloyi, 49, waited five hours to be finally able to cast his ballot. He said he did not mind the long wait because he felt a sense of involvement when he voted, 15 years ago, for the African National Congress, which led the liberation from apartheid. Mr. Baloyi said, “I am an A.N.C. man until the day I die.” The African National Congress has led the country for the past 15 years.

These huge crowds are considered typical turnouts. A record of 23 million South Africans out of 48.7 million were registered to vote. Numbers so big that many polling places ran out of paper ballots and cardboard boxes in which they get stuffed. This was the fourth national election in the young in the young democracy’s history. It will be the fourth landslide victory for the A.N.C., propelling the controversial Jacob Zuma into presidency although he has been accused of corruption by some people. The A.N.C earned more than 62 percent of the vote out of 1.5 million votes counted. This victory came when the party was facing an international bloodletting that led to diversion of some politicians off the party.

The city of Diepsloot offers evidence of the A.N.C’s continuing hold on most voters. The city is in terrible condition, without basic resources such as electricity, water and sanitation. Poverty has settled deep in the 150,000 people’s lives. Some are fortunate to have government-provided houses although many others live in shacks know as mkhukhu. However, people believe that their life condition has improved thanks to the A.N.C. Elvis Ndou, 32, who lives in the mkhukhu with his wife and children, said, “things are getting better bit by bit, and that’s because of the A.N.C.”

Also, people’s loyalty to those who sacrificed for freedom also explains why the A.N.C has continued winning the election. The A.N.C. remains the political brand who political image represents liberation. Mary Jane Tyutula, an unemployed 28-year-old, said, “I always vote A.N.C. because of Nelson Mandela and all he did for the struggle. I won’t let him down.”

On the other hand, there also were some critics about the domination of A.N.C and people’s imprudent favour for the A.N.C. Former President Thabo Mbeki expressed his concern as people seemed to vote for the A.N.C. only because of the party’s past achievement although the party has been tainted with corruption. He said, “I think the future of the country depends in part on people voting according to their conscience.”

Opinion: First of all, I am impressed how South African people gathered at the polling station at midnight to cast their ballots on the election taking place next morning. Many people here in Canada and in my country Korea seem to be indifferent of thier privilege of suffrage. However, they were in realization of the importance of voting. One of the other articles about this South African election shows an interview with a 20-year-old student. He spoke about making a difference and having their voice heard. I also agree that the right to vote is something that is extremely important and is worth waiting hours to cast my ballot. This is because that is one of many easy ways to have your voice heard and participate in democratic society where people have freedom of speech. Second of all, I think South Africa citizens should now become more thoughtful of their selection rather than voting for the African National Congress party out of thankfulness for the party's past achievement of liberation. Because the party has currently been accused of corruption, people should become more careful. Their wrong decision can easily lead to the country's fall to the political corruption. In this context, I agree with former President Thabo Mbeki that people should vote according to their judgement on conscience. In order to complete the most ideal form of government Abraham Lincoln proposed in his Gettysburg speech, people's active and conscientious participation is critical. "The government of the people, by the people, and for the people" can only be established with people's righteousness and such a government "shall not perish from the earth".