Vote not on cards for Indians
THE election brings with it an enigma that is often the subject of much media coverage: the socalled Indian vote.
I decided to test my perception of the subject by speaking to a cross-section of 45 Indian people.
The election was a nonevent for them and more than 70% of the sample, mainly young and middleaged respondents, said that they would not be voting.
They viewed it as a waste of time.
They had lost faith in politicians and felt that no party had anything significant to offer them.
Behind the apathy was the sense that their voices did not mean anything and there was a selfacceptance among them that this was unchangeable.
So, why bother with getting actively involved in political life?
Oddly, the conversations never drifted to the usual topic: how Indians are being marginalised.
Instead, the focus was on corruption, incompetence and public service officials’ attitude.
Most were ignorant of how their decision to not vote would affect election results.
Most were unwilling to enter into deeper discussions of the effect of not voting and that this would favour the majority party in a democracy.
Those who planned to vote, mainly older, middle- and upperincome groups, were against voting for the ANC, even though many of them had supported the party in the past.
They had simply lost confidence in the ruling party’s ability to govern. The limit was the Nkandlagate scandal.
Many felt that they could no longer justify voting for the ANC, but they were indecisive about whom to vote for.
The Democratic Alliance was the next bet, despite doubts about its claims of being nonracial, and people said voting for it would show the ANC how unhappy they were.
The Minority Front has always affected niche Indian communities and some people mentioned that this was the only party that looked after Indian concerns and that they would be voting for it.
On a national level, this support has never been significant and there was no indication that it would be any different this year.
The Raj’s departure from the party was a nonevent.
No other parties featured in any of the conversations.
Agang and the Congress of the People had both showed promise initially. They could have attracted a cross-section of the electorate, but both have lost credibility.
The Economic Freedom Fighters are unconcerned about campaign- ing in “traditional” Indian areas.
No party has won Indians’ hearts and minds.
When mentioning the “Indian” question, issues the respondents mentioned were general citizens’ concerns such as dissatisfaction with maladministration and fears of a looming disaster fuelled by the rising cost of living and unemployment.
The findings of my snap survey did not surprise me. My thought is that, during elections, the electorate makes rational choices based on available information.
They select the party that closely represents their (material) interests.
Political parties that base their campaigns on tribal or racial lines should bear this in mind.
Campaigns will have to win the support of a stratum of the electorate, rather than appeal to narrow class and race interests that invoke only fear and cannot serve the interests of democracy.
Retrospectively, I had a sense that many people misunderstood how not voting would affect voter results.
I urge citizens to participate and make informed choices.
A lack of interest in political parties, or the election, will maintain the status quo.
Irrespective of the election outcome, we need to increase participation and public accountability. Opting out gives away our power to those who will govern anyway.
It is your choice — a right that was fought for.
Naidu is the executive director of the Democracy Development Programme