As South Africans head to the polls to cast their votes on Wednesday 29 May, some uncertain of who to vote for, People’s Post spoke to a local political scientist about what voters should consider when receiving their three ballots.
In previous elections, there were only two ballots, a National PR Ballot for the National Assembly (Parliament), and a Provincial Ballot for the Provincial Legislature of the province.
“Now we have a third ballot. This is for the regional seats for the province in the National Assembly,” explained Michael Hendrickse, provincial electoral officer.
Amanda Gouws, department of political science professor at the University of Stellenbosch, said voters should look at party’s manifestos which speak to issues that are affecting them.
“They should choose an issue that’s important to them like housing or employment and look at what the party says about that.
“This is really a watershed election where the possibility of breaking the ANC-one party dominance is real. We may have to enter into coalitions politics on national as well as provincial level.”
Gouws explained that voters should familiarise themselves with the various new parties that will be contesting the elections.
“Normally people vote for party loyalty, but there’s so many new parties so there’s no history of party loyalty and I think voters should look at the manifestos of the different parties to see what they can offer them.”
“If you are tired of the ruling party’s policies and if they are not looking after your interests, then vote for another party. Pay attention to the news on radio and television around elections and look at the manifestoes.”
Gouws added that it is critical that voters understand how their vote can bring much-needed change in the country.
“Everyone should vote because a stay away vote just helps that parties get in, in a lower turnout. Every vote counts and every vote can make a difference. A stay-away vote is not helping. People should consider the importance of the vote and the liberation struggle to get that vote, so use it to your own advantage.”
According to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), just over 3,3 million people are registered to vote in the Western Cape of which more than half a million are between the ages of 18 and 25.
Commenting on the figure of registered youth Gouws said: “I don’t think young people are not voting because they are alienated, they’re not voting because they are disillusioned with politics. The cohort between 18 and 25 is a couple of million people, so they can make a huge difference to the outcome of an election if you go and vote.”
