elections in south africa (cape town)

The national elections were held here in South Africa on Wednesday. South Africa's democracy is 20 years old this year, and these were the 5th elections in which every citizen had the right to vote.

It was a national holiday, and there was no school. Jim and I worked for part of the day and went out in the afternoon to try to spot a polling station. The one down the road was empty, with some bored-looking people sitting at the table - Constantia is a little more expat, a lot more white, and a little less populous than the parts of the country that get photographed for international news. So we missed out on witnessing the excitement and long queues first-hand.

Our local polling station, at a school next door to Jim's. Hard to spot, but there is a table with two people sitting at it in the center of the lawn, and no voters to be seen (assumedly they'd all come and gone already; polls opened at 7am, and this was taken at 4pm).

Take a look at live election results here: http://www.news24.com/Elections/Results#map=live

The results aren't final yet, but it is looking like the leading African National Congress has won again, and with over 60% of the vote. People were saying anything under 60% would mean relative defeat, as other parties would gain more significant power in Parliament and push the ANC toward reform.

The main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, has about 22% of the vote (up from 15% in the last elections). The DA's stronghold is the Western Cape, where we live, but they made significant gains in other parts of the country. They had been hoping to take Gauteng province, where Johannesburg is located (the economic center of the country).

The big news is that the "new kids on the block," the Economic Freedom Fighters, led by Julius Melema, has won around 6% of the vote and has over a million votes. This means they'll win roughly 20 seats in parliament (a big deal, as far as we can tell). The EFF has been pushing the ANC's rhetoric and legislation further to the left; Melema has called for nationalization of foreign companies without compensation. Jim wrote about this party back in the fall, as we started to notice press coverage of the group with the red berets here in the Western Cape.

Other new, seemingly promising opposition parties, including the Agang led by moderate Mamphela Ramphele, have not done nearly as well and won't get many seats in the national parliament.

We asked a few South African friends who they'd be voting for earlier this week. A fellow teacher at Jim's school was voting DA, while our friend who currently works as the security guard at the school, wasn't sure who she'd vote for: the ANC or the DA. She said, basically, "They're all crooks," and that the rest of the parties don't matter.

mandela movie and new political organization

After watching "Mandela:  Long Walk to Freedom" last night Jennifer and I were blown away by how accurate and vivid the imagery of South Africa and the race relations was portrayed.  The violence and struggle for political freedom has changed forms, but the sociopolitical landscape remains largely unchanged since Mandela was elected.  The pervasive attitude towards race has changed much, but there are still many ignorant people of all races.  In addition, economic conditions for white, black, and people of color have not changed much.  The poorest settlements are nearly 100% black and most do not have any running water.  Currently, there are large protests taking place to improve sanitation in the settlements.  In Khayelitsha there are currently ten households sharing a single porto-potty.  It is incredibly sad to drive by these settlements on our way to and from great adventures in South Africa.

One important realization that Jennifer and I have come to is that the settlements are a constructed reality--that they do not have to exist.  They were created in a system that was designed to make living situations so horrible that black Africans would move into the interior of South Africa.  Of course the interior of South Africa is not arable and there are no chances for employment--besides the mines of course, which have a continual supply of very cheap labor.  So, after twenty years of political freedom there has been little progress in addressing rampant poverty in the settlements. 

An interesting movement to watch is the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) who are currently vying for a majority vote in the Cape Flats.  The EFF stands in support of gaining more land for settlement and improving sanitary conditions within the settlements.  The EFF is running as opposition to the African National Congress (ANC), which was Nelson Mandela's party.  Corruption within the ANC and opposition to leftist proposals, the ANC is leans way left and can identify as communist, by the Democratic Alliance (DA) have thwarted much of the progress.  In other words, change is possible, but the political gridlock and corruption prevent progress from occurring.  For this reason I think the introduction of a third party and truly the second black party in South Africa will prove very interesting to watch.  The DA is the white party within South Africa and leans right. 

Here is the website for the EFF:  http://www.economicfreedomfighters.org/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7SKQZYdZ1c

Despite Malema's beret we hope he continues nonviolent protests, such as the Poo Protests, in which human faeces is dumped in front of government buildings, on major highways, and at the international airport, in an effort to draw attention to the horrid sanitary conditions within the settlements.

Hopefully positive change will continue--economic repression is still rife within South Africa--yet I believe these protests would never have been allowed to happen twenty years ago.  Democracy isn't always pretty, but it does mean progress towards a mutual understanding.

This is my first socially focused blog post, but I think it comes at an apt time as we reflect on the socioeconomic landscape that was changed so much for the good by Mandela.