Polling station exchanges

Election Day has come and gone, and all will be going back to ‘normal’ soon. All will be going back to citizens hoping and waiting for things to get better while politicians continue with their internal party battles and court cases.

Election Day was just another day of work in my world. Having been declared a national holiday, it only presented an opportunity for me to continue work on my programming assignment without worrying about class. I was still in bed when she got back home; having had been too lazy to get up to work on the assignment. A few minutes later, I was sitting on one of the bean-bags in her room, glad in pyjama pants and a t-shirt, eager to hear all about her experience. My housemate, Robin*, had just cast her very first vote as a South African citizen. She and South Africa’s ‘born free’ generation (who I believe are yet to be born) had just cast a vote for the very first time. That morning, she had left the house unsure of her vote only to have her vote decided by the polling station.

Robin, a third year Fine Art student, is a very well informed young person. Prior to the elections, she had done extensive research on the different parties with a presence in the Western Cape and she had eventually decided to focus her research on the ANC (African National Congress), DA (Democratic Alliance) and AGANG SA. We usually convene in the kitchen to discuss such matters, so on one evening we convened by the kitchen sink and she shared the findings of her research. Varsity, the campus newspaper at UCT (University of Cape Town) had also done a feature on the national elections and she had in hand the pages on which the party manifestos had been printed. Even with all this research she had still been unsure of which party to vote for. As a side thought, I wondered how many of us were (and are) willing to do research on our political parties and leaders so we can make informed decisions.

At this juncture, I must share that I find it rather ‘unsettling’ to have to vote for a party, as is the case in South Africa, instead of voting for an individual, as is the case in Botswana. I believe in being given an opportunity to vote for a competent individual to be my voice in government. Having been awarded this opportunity as Batswana, I find it sad that we continue to vote for parties. Anyway, upon arrival at the polling station Robin presented her Identity document to a member of staff of the IEC (Independent Electoral Commission). This member of staff was a Xhosa speaking lady and she made an error in assuming that Robin was also Xhosa. This is an assumption that had taken deep root here in the Western Cape. Upon presenting her Afrikaans surname and pronouncing her inability to speak Xhosa, Robin was given a sneer for a response and a minor gossip later ensued about just how coloured she was. We could each infer differently about Robin’s case, but she felt discriminated against by a fellow black person for not being 'black enough'. With this, her national vote had been decided. She decided not to vote for the ANC because she believes that after 20 years of democracy we should have bridged the gap between the black and coloured people of South Africa. She believes we are one people. It disturbs her how when speaking of poor people we only mention black people; forgetting about the millions of coloureds who struggle to make ends meet. She cited examples within her home town, Kimberly, where preference is given to black people by the ANC, with better investments being made in black settlements. Her vote was for the DA.

While in the queue to casting her vote, from behind her, a male voice expressed its gladness in having her present at that polling station and how things had really changes now that apartheid was over. It was only at that moment that Robin realised she was the only black person standing in the queue. The other black people present at the polling that morning were the security guards and the IEC staff members. She then expressed her understanding of why she was the only black person on the queue. Gardens, the area we live in, is a very white area, being close to Table Mountain and all. One finds that the closer they get to the mountain the more white the community becomes. It dawned on her that “Capetonian ‘liberals’ are racist and classist”. With that, her provincial vote had been decided. Here vote went to AGANG SA because she wants some change in the Western Cape, a change that will enable all to benefit. This reminded me of an article I had read a week earlier in the The Guardian (UK) about the pronounced social injustices of Cape Town.

I don’t know if I would have voted had I been South African. Had I voted though, it would have been for the DA at national level. I would have voted for the DA because I believe in the potential of the ANC as a party for the people. My vote would have been to serve as a wake-up call for the ANC and to have our party leaders up their game in serving the needs of the people. The ANC has gotten really comfortable in power, even the party leader believes they are invincible with statements such as “ANC will rule till Jesus comes”. It would have been to serve as a reminder to the ANC that they are not our only option, we believe in the ANC but we also have the power to make a different choice should our needs not be catered for. My provincial vote is undecided but I suspect I would have voted either for AGANG SA or for the DA. 

* Not her real name.