Race to SA elections reaches fever pitch
Richard Moleofe | Tuesday May 6, 2014 15:28
On radio, in newspapers and all over everything is about the upcoming elections. There is so much excitement in the air and even the non-politicised cannot escape it. The Western Cape and particularly Cape Town is the hub of the Democratic Alliance (DA) but the African National Congress (ANC) is hot on the DA’s heels and hoping to dislodge it from the city and the province.
I am nestled in the high income suburban of Pinelands and sampling the posters on the street lights is quite an interesting exercise. Most of them belong to the DA, the African Christian Democratic Party and amazingly the Independent Freedom Party of Chief Mangosutu Buthelezi, with the ruling ANC at a distant fourth place.
Taking it from my female driver, all parties in this part of the country seem to be fighting a losing battle against street people who gather paper for recycling. They are a menace and like hyenas they are active in the dead of the night, pulling down these street light posters to sell to recycling companies.
On the last day of April, the news channels were preoccupied with the casting of votes by those South Africans who reside abroad. Those in Auckland New Zealand made news as they were the first to cast their votes. They are always first and in 1994 this particular polling station caused international consternation in the news media as a Nigerian woman was among the first to cast a vote claiming to be Nelson Mandela’s niece.
London had the highest number of registered voters abroad and South Africans formed long queues to cast their precious vote.
The Cape Flats is one area in Cape Town which is very critical in determining which party wins the Western Cape. It is a high-density area predominantly occupied by the so-called coloured people.
This is a place where the leader of every party wants to be at this critical moment. Last Wednesday town hall debate was held at the Lentegeur Civic Centre where parties engaged in unarmed combat at the podium. Here the DA, ANC, ACDP, EFF and Agang SA were present and it was interesting to note all the opposition parties making the ANC uncomfortable on the stage and forcing the ruling party to justify one policy after another.
It is here that I came to appreciate that politics is indeed about winning people’s hearts and minds. The mind will remain the battleground for all politicians until Wednesday. And it is those who succeed in changing perceptions of voters that will inch ahead of others in this political race.
*Mmegi columnist and retired military officer, Richard Moleofe, is observing this week’s general elections in South Africa