ANC veterans urge South Africans to ‘Vote No’
JOBURG – Over 100 ANC veterans are urging disheartened voters to spoil their ballot papers or to vote for an opposition party in the upcoming May 7th elections.
The Sidikiwe! Vukani! Vote no! translated as “We are fed up! Wake up!” campaign was recently launched at Wits University.
Former intelligence minister Ronnie Kasrils said he didn’t vote for the ANC in the previous election. Earlier in the week during a radio interview, he said people should either spoil their ballot papers or vote for another party, but not the DA party.
According to Dr Vishwas Satgar, 25 million poor Africans had been left behind in the democratic South Africa. “A vote for the ANC today means a vote for the Gupta’s, for people who areparasitic on the state and for those who want to accumulate [wealth],” he said.
According to former deputy health minister Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge, there was a growing number of disgruntled South Africans and the leaders need to see this.“Instead of sitting in your corner and complaining that the government has forgotten about us, go to the polling and use your power to express your feeling to those who rule,” she said.
Madlala-Routledge said there was “absolutely no way” anybody could justify the expenditure on the security upgrades on President Jacob Zuma’s private home in Nkandla.“Who does he fear? Is it those people knocking on his gate saying president we are hungry?”
Outside the launch venue several political parties picketed against the campaign. The universities’ ANC Youth League Secretary Yamkela Fanisi said they questioned the intentions of Kasrils.“When he was an uMkhonto weSizwe soldier, he fought for people to vote, but now he’s becoming a hypocrite. He should know better,” he said.
ANC Youth League National Convenor Mzwandile Masina had uploaded a photograph of Madlala-Routledge and Kasrils on the social network, Instagram. In the caption he referred to Madlala-Routledge as a “hoe” who had been fired
by Thabo Mbeki. However, he later apologised in the comment section.
ANC Youth League spokesperson Bandile Masuku distanced the Youth league from the comment.“We shall never allow anyone to degrade the ANC Youth League to previous levels of disrespect and chaos,” he said.
