Phiri Cawe reflects on the 2024 elections.
South Africans, let's gather here to talk about the non-voters in the past national and provincial elections.
We have been furiously discussing the elections and outcome and I have enjoyed seeing how South Africans have matured when it comes to politics. Hats off to our people and their intellect when it comes to issues of hope and delivery.
But it has left little room to talk about those who decided not to vote this year. It should be a worrying factor.
Those people are making a bold statement to say, we will not be part of a process we don’t trust. Maybe they don’t trust the government or the Electoral Commission of South (IEC), those who are in various positions of power like the courts, or any political party.
Perhaps they asked, what if Cope, the EFF or uMkhonto We Sizwe win the elections? What will they put on the table better than the ANC? Aren’t these parties a duplication of the ANC? What if the DA wins, are we going to go back to apartheid era?
I think many people may have felt confused and depressed about these elections. They didn’t want to play a part in a country that has been engulfed in corruption. They refused to rubber stamp mediocrity by politicians.
Another factor could be that our country has a lot of disruptive political parties. How do you begin to trust a government that has parties from within another party? My last take on the non-voters is that they believe the politicians don’t care about us. They only come to us during the campaigning to make promises.
For a country that is facing poverty, crime, unemployment and many other societal challenges, we need them present consistently.
A country with such depressed people needs support from the so-called leaders.
We ought to also be honest to say the government does not value us as much as they should. The R350 grant and free party T-shirts are not enough.
The challenge with this country is that positions of power do not come with responsibility but with titles. All they know is to drive expensive cars, wear branded clothing and forget their huge responsibilities. Roads not only in the villages are wrecked. Villagers have no water.
I hope as parliament will start to sit, a debate will be held about the high percentage of non-voters and their reasons for snubbing the polls.
I hope that silent voice will be heard.