New body promises to force political parties to put voters first

South Africa is about to experience a new people-centred approach to politics in the country’s public spaces with the establishment of a civil society-led platform, Vote South Africa First, which promises to enforce accountability and putting people and voters first by political parties.

The body proclaimed itself to be a non-partisan forum and not a political party, and vowed to provide an open platform for the voters and political parties to interact in the interest of the country and democracy.

Vote South Africa First convenor Dr Bheki Shongwe said: “We want to introduce a new entry into South Africa’s elections, the ordinary people of South Africa and voters who want to have a voice in the election of their government and to determine their future. Vote South Africa First will be a permanent feature in both the general and local government elections.

“Vote South Africa First will serve as a platform for active citizens’ participation during elections, will place the electorate at the centre of power, and will signal the beginning of the end of an era where voters have been taken for a ride.”

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He stressed that this would not be a political party or a membership-based body but a civil society platform open to leaders of political parties across the spectrum.

“Vote South Africa First will insist that political parties who are seeking votes from the electorate should give a proper account of their intentions and also of their track record,” Shongwe said.

“The ultimate goal of Vote South Africa First is to enable the people of South Africa to elect a government that will put their interests and those of the country above everything else as the cornerstone and justification for its existence. This will bring about a true democratic government in the country – a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.”

The leader maintained that, since 1994, South African voters took a backseat and allowed politicians and their parties to roam free without accountability. They want to reverse this.

“Active citizenry and a participative electorate have become more important against a context of state capture, massive corruption, high rate of unemployment, poor leadership, the country’s junk status, weak service delivery, and much more.”

They want a clean government, accountable leadership, an end to corruption, rule of law, a junk status-free and booming economy accompanied by high food production and low levels of unemployment.

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This was a bottom-up initiative with no large overheads and big-name political figures. Asked about its level of influence and whether it hoped to be taken seriously both by voters and the existing political parties, Shongwe was confident of the success of this approach especially by those who believed in democracy.

“We want people to discover for themselves that, as Vote South Africa First, we stand for a good cause, we don’t want big names. What have big names done for South Africa in nearly 30 years of our democracy? Nothing. We will be taken seriously because what we will be driving will get everybody’s attention.

“We will be part of [the] electoral process in [the] country, we want South African people to be election observers themselves. We will organise presidential debates by leaders of political parties.”

The organisation has its own People’s Manifesto crafted by grassroots people and that outlined its vision and what ordinary voters would like to see happening in the country to ensure effective democracy, political accountability, and economic prosperity.

– ericn@citizen.co.za

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