Eddie on the importance of voting

Today at my internship with the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) I had lunch with some of the employees and I was astounded to hear some of their views on the ruling African National Congress party (ANC).  With the upcoming presidential election many felt disillusioned not with the party but with the leadership.  I had felt that the ANC was largely unimpeachable amongst South Africans but to apprehend multifarious complaints was insightful.

Upon hearing their concerns I made a comparison with what many felt with the British Labour Party prior to the 2010 general election.  Labour had been in power since 1997 after stumbling for eighteen years in opposition since 1979.  Although they made great advances for the UK a popular complaint towards the end of their tenure was that they had lost touch with people and were tired and out of ideas.  After thirteen years in electoral wilderness the Conservative and Unionist Party inaugurated a paradigm shift on many salient issues such as gay marriage, the environment and taxation.  They were considered groundbreaking for the party at the time and they went on to win the 2010 election.  A feeling I got regarding the ANC was that the party is near enough guaranteed 60% of the vote every election and the remaining parties fight for 30%.  Throughout the conversation I thought of the dangers of repeated easy elections.  If victory is never too far away then this will surly beget stagnation.  This appeared to be the case with the Labour Party and according to the South Africans might be taking place within the ANC.

Some voters told me that they cannot bring themselves to vote for the ANC but cannot bear to vote for any other party.  Some said they would spoil their ballot as a method to register their discontent.  What was paramount was that they would exercise their right to vote on polling day.  This struck a cord with me, as I know of so many people in the UK who do not bother to flex this precious right.  During my time in the USA I comprehended the school of thought known as ‘voter fatigue’ where voters are inundated with ballot papers.  Citizens are routinely asked to vote on matters ranging from tax increases to porcine conditions, from euthanasia to the legalisation of marijuana.  With so many dissimilar votes to be cast I believe that there is an argument that the citizen who probably has very little knowledge of the subject put before them may feel intimidated by the convoluted choices.  Consequentially the voter may not bother to cast their opinion.  Direct democracy may need gentle reform so as to properly include people and opinions.  However in the UK we are asked only a handful of occasions every five years to elect our councillors and Members of Parliament.  Putting aside the usual grievances in Western democracies many would say that the British polity is respected and functional, though this for me is no excuse to not vote.  British suffrage is a shameful history in the UK where women weren’t fully enfranchised until 1928.

From the conversation I understood that democracy in general is an ongoing project that demands careful attention and vigilance.  To not vote is to disrespect the risks people took and the lives people gave to enshrine that right.  Whatever your thoughts are on democracy and I know it is an imperfect method of governance, I believe it is your civil duty to cast your vote on who you want to delegate these important decision making powers to.  Living in South Africa for a month has reinforced that conviction.