As a virgin-voter in 2014, I was incredibly conflicted about which party to vote for. My knowledge on political parties is limited to whatever is broadcast on Morning Live, A View from the House and the seven 'o clock news. I know as much as the mede-mens does.
I respect a lot of what the ANC has stood for and yes, they have had a good story to tell, but not under Jacob Zuma's management. I didn't want to vote for the man, who spends over R200 million of taxpayers' money on his private residence, to the the face of South Africa.
I respect a lot of what the ANC has stood for and yes, they have had a good story to tell, but not under Jacob Zuma's management. I didn't want to vote for the man, who spends over R200 million of taxpayers' money on his private residence, to the the face of South Africa.
The DA, on the other hand, just complain about what the ANC, without offering real solutions. And clearly there is mismanagement and corruption on their part as well, considering most of Khayelitsha's residence support the ANC in a DA-dominated Western Cape. That, coupled with their support for Israel's Apartheid State, earns a 'no' for the opposition party from me.
But, then again, voting for one of the smaller parties isn't very strategic when it comes to seats in Parliament.
I only made up my mind about my vote when I'd realized I'd been standing at the booth for over five minutes with a queue of people behind me.
To be honest my interest in this election was less on the fact that I was voting for the first time, and more on the outcome. The introduction of the EFF and Agang, and the recent public outbursts on their dislike of Zuma made for an exciting election; however, I didn't think we were going to be at a stage where the ANC and any opposition (most likely the DA) would be neck-and-neck. Twenty years seems like a long time, but when put into perspective it hasn't been that long since Apartheid ended. The generation before the born-frees will remain loyal to the ANC for their instrumental role in the Struggle. Perhaps in another two elections' time.
I voted at the local Civic Centre and it went pretty quickly; it took me about ten minutes for everything (minus the five minutes I spent at the booth) to get done and the IEC staff were friendly. There was a chilled vibe with families having picnics outside the centre. I was hoping to have a bit of a queue-vibe, but I was writing Auditing the next day so rushing back home to learn the payroll cycle was more of a priority.
It was only a few years ago that I was wondering about who I'd vote for when I was of age, so I guess the one thing this election has made me realize is that I'm getting old.
