Voting day tomorrow

So yeah, tomorrow we go to the polls. They are calling it the most significant elections since 1994 when Nelson Mandela became our first black president.

It's far more interesting this time round though. In the past, people have voted out of loyalty. Parties were racially stratified. If you were black, you generally voted for the African National Congress (The ANC) who have been the ruling party since 1994. If you were black, Zulu, and lived in the Kwazulu Natal province, you voted for Zulu Prince Mangosuthu Buthulezi's Inkatha Freedom Party (The IFP). If you were white, and spoke English, you voted for the Democratic Alliance (DA), and if Afrikaans was your home language, then the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) was your party.

Some permutations have occured though. The ANC is now led by a Zulu (Jacob Zuma) - it has always been a traditionally Xhosa party. There is a new breakaway party from the ANC called The Congress of the People (Cope).

The DA is now led by the charismatic Hellen Ziller, who has been Mayor of Cape Town for five years, and was recently voted best Mayor in the world by international press. From being a party that simply whinged about everything the ANC said or did, they are a real force. A Hillary Clinton combined with Maggie Thatcher type.

What everyone who is not voting for the ANC agrees on though, is the importance of not letting the ANC take a two thirds majority. This would give them the power to change the constitution, and is very very dangerous indeed.

For the first time, actual delivery and policies are important, rather than just voting blindly loyal.

My Guess at the national results?

ANC 58%
DA 12%
COPE 7%
IFP 6%
FF+ 2%
etc... 15%

We also vote for local ward councilors, and provincial parties. We have nine provinces. I think our ballot paper has twenty-four parties on it. The rest are made of parties like the Pink Party (gay), the Green Party (Enviro-mad), the African Christian Democratic Party, and the South African Communist Party.

Last year, 16m people voted, they are forecasting 20m this year. Let's hope the Obama magic rubs off, and will give people the courage to make a change, rather than to just vote how they always have.

Interestingly, this year is the first year that South Africans living or traveling abroad could vote (that was over the weekend). Convicted murderers, fraudsters and rapists have the right to vote from prison.

I dislike electioneering season immensely. It brings out the worst in people.