Turn up in large numbers at polling stations – Solidarity

1 August 2016

Trade union Solidarity said today that it was important that people should turn up in large numbers to vote this coming Wednesday. The trade union also said that the right to vote was a right that South Africans may exercise free of charge and that you would be no poorer if you voted for the party of your choice.

According to Dr Eugene Brink, Political analyst at the Solidarity Research Institute, a democracy is not merely measured by free and fair elections. Although elections are not necessarily decisive, they play an important role in a democracy. “In the coming election, it is important that we should not expect a perfect outcome but that we should keep in mind that even a small improvement is still better than no improvement. Therefore people should decide for themselves which party is the closest reflection of their values and interests, since there is no such thing as a perfect party,” Brink said.

Brink also said that there will be winners and losers after Wednesday but that this healthy competition in the political arena would eventually lead to better service delivery and results. “The choice is not between a totally hopeless and an absolutely outstanding municipality; the challenge is to choose a municipality that will ensure that the things we pay for at least are executed well, and one that strives to perform better,” Brink explained.

Brink said that the interests of minority and majority groups need not always be in direct conflict. “There are many things that we broadly agree upon, among other things corruption, poor service delivery, dilapidated infrastructure and wastefulness. A major reason why municipalities and provinces with large majorities are experiencing the worst conditions and service delivery, is because their election results are so predictable and rulers abuse these mandates to serve their own interests instead of those of the public,” Brink explained.

Brink also explained that as a result of certain features in our dispensation and demographic factors minorities would still play second fiddle for quite some time because the major parties obviously have to accommodate the majority in so many respects to the detriment of minorities – a fact that has clearly emerged from Solidarity’s court case against the Department of Correctional Services (DCS). “It is for this reason that civil society and well-organised cultural communities are of such importance to counterbalance too much political power and other abuses. Any government needs to be kept on its toes. That is why a vote for a smaller party is not necessarily a wasted vote,” Brink explained.    

Issued by Eugene Brink, Political Analyst: Solidarity Research Institute, 1 August 2016