Voters ‘gatvol’ with political parties taking potshots at each other

The bickering between ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema, the Democratic Alliance, ActionSA and others, and their resorting to the courts to solve political issues, has left South Africans with the question of who to trust in the upcoming general elections.

Saturday Citizen spoke to residents in Westbury who expressed little or no interest in voting. Although there were more than 40 political parties on the previous election’s ballot sheet, residents did not feel they could trust any of them.

Political parties don’t care

One, Andre van Wyk, said: “I don’t care, they can kill each other for all I care. We have been voting but things are still the same; there is crime every day, there are no jobs, these people [politicians] do not care, so what is the point of voting…”

Another, Rochelle Jones, said: “We hear gunshots every day, gangsterism is thriving, people are killed like it’s nothing. We are always scared. I am no longer sure about voting.

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“Maybe I will vote for a different party because the one I have been voting for has disappointed me. Things are bad in our country. It’s like they only care about having big positions now.”

Coalitions have not made things easier for voters with their constant failures in municipalities, with former Joburg mayor Mpho Phalatse removed and Ekurhuleni mayor Tania Campbell facing the same fate.

Despite the ANC and EFF fighting each other, they still appear to be voting with each other in the Joburg council.

This week, the ANC-EFF coalition in the City of Joburg chose to vote against a motion which sought to eradicate the bucket toilet system in underprivileged communities.

Coalitions

Political analyst Sanusha Naidu said South Africans were “gatvol” with the fighting in the coalition government.

“They are frustrated, angry, they do not trust the government any more, they cannot trust the political system any more nor the institutions of the state.

“We knew coalitions were very much an emergent outcome so it wasn’t as if it wasn’t going to happen,” she said.

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Naidu raised concerns about parties running to court when they had differences.

“We have become a litigated democracy in so many ways. Political parties are not going to change their spots … until they come to our communities and we ask them what is your election strategy and what is your coalition strategy.”

Malema vs Mbalula

Naidu also weighed in on the feud between Mbalula and Malema, saying it was as much political as it was personal.

“They are two strong personalities, they are ambitious and [both] built their power base through the ANC Youth League.”

Electoral Commission of South Africa chief executive Sy Mamabolo has announced two registration weekends for the 2024 elections, the earliest possibly being 8 May and the other as late as 5 August.

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