Political parties, leaders not to vote for on May 29

With 50 days remaining before the much-anticipated national and provincial elections, it is quite funny that even atheists and self-proclaimed revolutionaries are suddenly finding themselves requesting churches to open their doors for them, to either address the congregations or ask for prayers.

If this is not a demonstration to the electorate on how manipulative some of the political parties and their leaders are, then it means that we have not learnt anything in the past 30 years of our democratic dispensation.

There are political parties and leaders, including among the independent candidates, who the voters should not consider voting for on May 29, and subsequent elections in SA. We have seen over the years how lenient the requirements are for anyone to become a public representative in SA.

And it is for this reason that I would like to make an appeal to the 27.7million eligible voters to value their votes and not vote for parties and leaders who are likely to continue to behave like constitutional delinquents in council and legislature meetings. It is so sad that after almost 30 years of our democratic dispensation, there are elected public representatives who still do not understand their role as our first line of lawmakers.

It is quite evident that some of those elected public representatives who were entrusted with the lawmaking process in the past 30 years, do not value and appreciate their roles as the first line of lawmakers at local, provincial and national level in SA.

As a patriotic South African and Azapo member, my submission to the 27.7-million fellow voters is not to vote for parties and political leaders who continue to: promote lawlessness and violence; encourage squalor in communities; promote illegal occupation of land; promote destruction of public property and infrastructure, and of private property;

demonstrate that they cannot be entrusted with state power at any level;

demonstrate that they are intolerant and lack political maturity;

support shutdowns that often inconvenience other citizens;

support disruption of council meetings, provincial legislatures and parliamentary sessions; and

encourage entry of undocumented foreign nationals into SA.

Lesego Sechaba Mogotsi, Gauteng