Elections 2009

Rhodes students up before 7am on a public holiday now that is not something that you see everyday! But as most of you well know today is no ordinary day.... it is ELECTION DAY 2009.
Voters all around South Africa will today exercise their democratic right to place an X next to the party of their choice.
So at 6:30 this morning I dragged my lazy bum out from under the warm covers and headed down to the Rhodes Drama Department to vote. As it turns out I was not the only student who had the same idea about voting early as there was already a sizable queue! The queue was buzzing with the chatter of friends and one keen student even brought along his guitar to keep boredom at bay. After waiting almost an hour and a half I finally put an X in the appropriate box and walked out feeling like one of the people that make our country democractic. It felt good!
And to put the cherry on the top I was informed by a police officer that Wimpy is giving all voters a free cup of coffee!!!! WOW now that is what I'm talking about!!! Students LOVE free stuff! So off my friends and I went to Wimpy to fulfill our daily caffine requirement free of charge.
Now this is what I call a good day!

Police keep a watchful eye over the queue of voters outside the Rhodes Drama Department voting station. Picture by: TARRYN LIDDELL

The atmosphere was festive as Rhodes students queued to place their votes in Grahamstown. Picture by: TARRYN LIDDELL

The Wind Of Change

Every morning I am woken up by my alarm clock ,tuned into 5FM, which I then listen to as the painfully long and often difficult process of waking up and actually getting out of bed begins. Once I have finally managed to convince myself that I have to get up and ‘no I can’t sleep for another five minutes’ I turn up the radio and the day begins to brighten. There is nothing like good music in the morning to get your day going. But this is not the only benefit of listening to the radio in the morning as it also keeps me updated on local and international news.

One of the news items that has been mentioned almost everyday for the past few days is that of Mosiuoa Lekota and the possibility of a splinter group being formed. Lekota the former Minister of Defence and a supporter of Thabo Mbeki is considering breaking away from the ANC as he believes that the party has become “arrogant” and there has been an “elimination of internal democracy within the ANC". On Monday night ANC President Jacob Zuma announced that Lekota had been suspended from the party as a result of his plans to leave.

I have heard many opinions about whether he will actually form an opposition party, whether the party will have support and if they could be a viable vote for the 2009 elections. Some people even think that it is disappointing how he is abandoning the ANC.

I on the other hand am actually less concerned with his reasons for wanting to leave the ANC and more with the implications that another party would have on the South African party system especially if it does gain support. South Africa is currently a one party dominated system (that party of course being the ANC) but what if another party had to gain support and be able to offer an alternative to the dominate party. For this exact reason I think that a splinter party is a good idea and is in fact healthy for our party system as a dominating party is a lazy party. Even if this new party only has an effect in the long term it will be worth it as the competition and debate that will ensue will be good for both the ANC and South Africa.