Poll boycott political Russian roulette

29(510(17¶6 choice of side step ping dialogue in favour of focusing on elections is probably borne of a convic tion by the leadership that while the former is desirous of keeping with their apt repeated clichp of believing in and subscribing to dialogue in the resolution of disputes and differences, but it was risky because its outcomes could not be pre determined ± at least until the ongoing war of attrition has completely sanitised society of ele ments of pro multiparty political activists while the latter offered a safer haven because it could easily be manipulated and its outcomes pre de termined to restore to original form whatever that was eroded since the -une 0 pro multiparty protests. That some proponents of political plu ralism organisations have opted to boycott the elections has indeed bolstered government’s confidence in reclaiming the psychological and political upper hand once and for all to enable it to delay ± but certainly not stop ± the people’s appetite for political change.

Conscious

*overnment is conscious that when it comes to elections it holds all the aces while the same cannot be said about the much hyped national dialogue. $nd in $frica it is an established fact, if not norm, that sitting governments are impossible to depose through the ballot box. 6itting governments have access to enormous 6tate resources they employ to either buy votes or simply rig outcomes by all means possible, including stuffing ballot boxes with ballots of hand picked candidates long before the elections are conducted.

In a one party, or non party, according to the narrative of the authorities, scenario like in the case of Eswatini, this works out much easier and is less complex because there are no political parties to rock the boat. Election observers are not useful in this respect but would conform to government’s narrative.

$s I see it, there are real fears from proponents of multiparty democracy that government, still smarting from the -une 0 popular protests against the obtaining political hegemony, has conMured up a strategy to ensure that the politi cally compromised and patronised Elections and Boundaries Commission EBC will deliver only loyalists to the next 3arliament to insulate the Tinkhundla political system from the bellowing winds of change. Indeed there is a valid argument over the capacity of the EBC, in its current form, to deliver a free and fair election even without under any circumstances because its members are sworn to uphold and protect the Tinkhundla system, period.

But all things considered, is it a wise decision by some political parties to boycott the elections" To properly interrogate this Tuestion would reTuire contextualising it on the backdrop of a hostile political environment buttressed by the failure of external interventions following the mass murders of political activists during and post the -une 0 protests and the ongoing clandestine war of attrition against individuals, especially the youth, suspected and profiled to be supporters of political parties.

But is boycotting in their best interests and those of the nation, especially their support base. There had been hope that the intervention of the 6outhern $frican 'evelopment Community 6$'C would persuade the ruling class to con vene an all inclusive political dialogue.

Regime

But two years ± and counting ± later the regime has shown no appetite for any dialogue what soever but conveniently used attacks against members of the security forces by so called solidarity forces to divert focus from dialogue by crying terrorism. But 6$'C, through its 2rgan Troika, has proven to be ineffective and a paper tiger unable to deliver an $frican solution to an $frican problem, to use an old clichp of the $frican leadership collective when protecting its despotic leadership. 6$'C was also least con cerned by the body count of ema6wati political activists martyred by the 6tate’s security forces. In other words, 6$'C endorsed and continues to support actions of the 6tate to allow the regime to regain its political foothold.

But in the midst of this 6$'C created gloom, a ray of sunshine has recently emerged from the dark political clouds hovering over ema6wati from the 8nited 6tates Congress with a resolu tion by 6enate to apply targeted sanctions against individuals who are guilty of human rights transgressions. :hile this measure may not be enough, but it may atone for the atrocities visited by the 6tate on political activists during and after the -une 0 protests to the current nocturnal harassment, often accompanied by assaults and torture, of citi]ens by heavily armed bands enforcing an illegal curfew that government is dismissively not aware of.

But is boycotting the elections a good political strategy in light of 6$'C’s dead diplomatic intervention" There is no one answer to this Tuestion but may reTuire interrogation from multiple prisms.

The primary reason for abstaining, we are informed, is that participation will eTuate to endorsing and validating the Tinkhundla political system that has taken this country into an abyss of social ills, including grinding poverty, looting of public resources, including minerals, and pervasive institutional corruption now embedded as a sub culture not to speak of the concomitant leadership frailties and failures.

$s I see it, the choice of boycotting the elec tions completely may be ill advised and stillborn because it is incoherent and short on how it hopes to achieve political changes. $ boycott seems to be a licence for the regime to continue, if not has ten, its melee of governance nightmares. $nother middle of the road option that could have been considered by the boycotting political parties could have been mobilising their members to register for but not actually vote in the elections.

Data

That data could then be used to create a spring board, as a de factor plebiscite, for domestic mobilisation to dismantle the Tinkhundla polit ical system once and for all. )or ultimately only a domestic solution will resolve this domestic political imbroglio.

There is also this Tuestion apropos boycotts; is it a top down decision from the leadership of the various political formations or is it the choice of the publics which form their support base" This Tuestion is germane in addressing the Tuestions of credibility, legitimacy, validation, etc., of either the elections or the political status Tuo in the event the EBC achieves its target of registering 50 000 voters and a respectable percentage of these does cast their votes. That could become a litmus test on the very existence of political parties and their demand for a place in the political space. Conversely boycotting the elections could be political suicide for the continued existence of political parties, let alone to the much desired political changes.

The Tuestion is $re the political parties boycotting the elections not playing a political 5ussian roulette"