People vote on No 1

AS Constitutional Court judges ponder whether to allow MPs to vote secretly on President Jacob Zuma’s future, Capetonians joined a very public poll yesterday.

#UniteBehind, a coalition of civil society organisations headed by Rod Solomons, the convenor of the South Africa First Forum, put ballot boxes across the city and handed out ballots asking “Should Jacob Zuma continue as president of South Africa?”

Solomons, who set up a polling station on Voortrekker Road in Maitland, said the symbolic act was meant to give the ANC’s national executive committee and MPs a glimpse of what “ordinary South Africans think” and the “mood on the ground”. He said about 3 000 people had cast their votes in Maitland between 9am and 11am.

“Young and old, black and white, people are indicating that Zuma must go, and the key thing that comes up all the time is that people are saying the president is corrupt and does not have the interests of the people at heart,” said Solomons. “In Table View people are enthusiastic, the same goes for Plumstead. The guy says while he was setting up there people wanted to vote already.”

He said #UniteBehind planned a march to parliament on the day MPs voted on a motion of no confidence in Zuma, and “will make these ballots available”.

Maitland resident Christine Roberts, 80, was among those who voted. “I want [Zuma] to go,” she said. “There is too much corruption in this country. People say the white government was also corrupt but they did not bankrupt the country. Maitland has been taken over by criminals and this government is unable to address that.”

Another voter, Melvin de Klerk, blamed Zuma for the country’s junk status, crime and unemployment. “He is not setting a good example for the country.”