The power is in your hands
MILLIONS of South Africans will today cast their votes in the provincial and national elections.
These elections are watershed in that they are occurring 25 years into the country’s democratic dispensation and are being contested by a record 48 political parties.
For our political and business elite, the stakes couldn’t have been higher.
They want to capture the state for their own interests and know very well that they need us – the voters – to do so.
Today, the power is in your hands. Your vote will determine the future and direction of this country.
It is typical of our politicians to remember us when it is time for elections. In between, some run the affairs of the country – be it at local, provincial or national level – with little regard for our interests. They literally forget about us.
But today is the day of reckoning. Vote for a party that has your interests at heart, and that of our country.
Those who plan to stay away from voting in protest are doing themselves a serious disservice. Voting for a party of your own choice is the best form of protest.
Many men and women died for us to earn the right to vote. We have to vote in honour of these fallen heroes and heroines of our land.
Speaking about the cornerstone of a democratic and free society, the father of our nation, Nelson Mandela, said in his first television interview in 1961: “The Africans require, want, the franchise on the basis of one man, one vote. They want political independence.”
We exercise this one man, one vote – whose secrecy is guaranteed by the country’s Constitution – in paying tribute to the founding fathers of our nation, including Mandela.
However, our participation in the democratic order should not start and end with voting.
You must also hold those you vote into power today accountable, going forward.
Failure to do so will be surrendering this power you hold to some unscrupulous politicians and businessmen, to pursue their narrow interests.
Today, the power is in your hands to determine your future.