The people of South Africa have been generally unhappy about a few things for some time now - from undelivered school books, e-tolls, to President Jacob Zuma’s latest scandal: the Nkandla complex security upgrades. Sensing the dissatisfaction of the people, parties new and old are all calling for change. Even the current ruling party’s campaign is centered on change whilst still reminding us of its many accomplishments.
For a young democracy we have come a long way and the ruling party (the African National Congress -ANC) has worked hard to try to clean up the mess that apartheid left behind. Some would say that they have done a great job and others would venture to say that the ruling party has failed. However we all need to remember that it’s only been twenty years. Yes, South Africa has grown over the last twenty years and we have accomplished much but there is still yet a whole lot more work and persevering ahead of us if we are ever to fulfill the vision that Nelson Mandela had for our beautiful South Africa.
With all this and other factors that we kept in mind, the Bellas knew they wanted to vote for change. The kind of change that is inclusive, that will bridge gaps and truly unite us as a country, as a people, in spite of our backgrounds, race or language, so we can become a strong and prosperous nation. As we sat in the lounge the night before the elections discussing voting day, the possible outcomes and the different parties, the Brainy Bella brought to our attention a questionnaire that was discussed on a local radio station (Jacaranda FM) that day called ‘Know Your Party’.
This questionnaire, posted originally on the News24 site, aimed to help identify the political party that is most closely aligned with your beliefs. The Bellas proceeded to go through the questionnaire intrigued to see what the results would be for each of us. Still uncertain who would get the Bossy Bellas' “X” next to their picture we went to sleep. On the 7th of May we woke up bright and early, well maybe not so bright and not so early (Voting stations opened at 7am), to go to our voting station with hopes to get there first. When we got to our voting station around 7:30am the queue snaked all around the block, with voters eager to make their mark and enjoy their public holiday. Since we live close to our voting station we decided not to stay but to return later in hopes that the queue would have decreased substantially. The Bubbly Bella decided, in light of the lengthy queue, to drive to the voting district she was originally registered in and so she set off to go make her mark.
As the remaining Bellas headed home to wait for the queue, we ran into the Bubbly Bella who had taken a wrong turn and had managed to get herself lost *nods head rolls eyes.* The Bubbly Bella made it to her voting station and made her mark before 11am. In the interim we had made our way home and climbed back into bed. Hours later we returned to our voting station and decided to stick it out and wait in the queue, despite no substantial receding in the line. The closer we got to the gate the more unsettled the Bossy Bella felt as she was not sure which party to vote for. Brainy Bella and Douglas (her brother) seemed fine - they even got into an hour long discussion about Marvel superheroes, fantasy books, and characters as we progressed closer to the front of the queue. At the stations out thumbs were marked with special ink, our names were crossed off and we were handed two ballot papers - one for the Provincial vote and the other for the National vote.
Our marks were made in a small IEC booth with observers from the various competing parties. We then deposited our ballot papers in the boxes and made our way home. The Bossy Bella couldn’t help but wonder if our time and the effort expended to make our choices and voices heard would make a difference in the end...
Whether or not we influenced the final results in any meaningful way, we all feel that as citizens of this beautiful country with such rich history it is our duty to fight to make it a better place.
Much love and light,
The Barefoot Bellas
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