South Africans have spoken. People came out in numbers during last week’s election (Wednesday 29 May) to elect the leaders of their choice.
It is for the first time in South Africa’s relatively new democracy this country is going to be ruled by a coalition.
The so-called feared organisation the African National Congress (ANC) garnered less than 51% of the votes, which prevents it from ruling alone.
The voters are tired of a political party that doesn’t honour its promises.
Its failure serves as a warning to other parties that if they operate in this way they will be rejected.
It is also a sign of maturity in our democracy.
The birth of the Umkhonto we Sizwe Party (MKP), which was launched last December, had an impact on the demise of the ANC. It has surprised many people by the numbers it has garnered in the elections.
I was under the impression it would get a chunk of supporters from only the ruling party, not the other way around.
It is not only the ANC that suffered from the formation of the MK Party, but various other parties, including the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP).
Gap
The huge gap between the MK and EFF speaks volumes.
EFF leader Julius Malema acknowledged the party was not surprised by the dwindling numbers in the KwaZulu-Natal.
He said those who voted for the EFF in the 2019 elections were disgruntled former President Jacob Zuma supporters.
This year’s votes show how our people voted with their minds and not their hearts.
I so wish our people could continue punishing all parties that work against their will.
The ANC needs to work hard to win the hearts of the people again. Only God knows if it will bounce back.
The signs were there, but the ANC was complacent enough to ignore them.
People have been complaining about poor service delivery, corruption and load shedding for a long time, grievances that fell on deaf ears.
Now everyone is dying to know which party the ANC is going to form the coalition with.
We had seen parties struggling to work together in the Nelson Mandela Bay, Eastern Cape and Ekurhuleni in Gauteng. We are patiently waiting to see their outcomes.
I am hoping that whichever parties are going to work together will do better to improve the lives of our people
people.
