Unless citizens change their understanding of the concept of individual voting in a democracy, from a very limited perspective towards a broader view, South Africa will remain stuck in a continuous destructive loop of electing corrupt, incompetent and criminal political leaders into power.
Such a continuous destructive loop, which South Africa is currently experiencing, leads to mass voter disillusionment, with more voters over time staying away from voting, as is currently the case, and worse, they lose confidence in democracy as a governance system to deliver public services, economic prosperity and the rule of law.
Recently, the annual Afrobarometer survey reported that for the first time in more than 25 years of surveying South Africa, the share of citizens who support military rule is higher than the share who oppose it. Almost half of respondents would approve of the army coming in to govern the country to bring back the rule of law, tackle corruption and to undo bottlenecks to get the failing state to deliver public services.
Many voters wrongly appear to believe that voting is like supporting soccer clubs, such as Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates or AmaZulu, that they have to support them through thick and thin, even if the leaders of the parties are corrupt, incompetent and violent, and their policies are nonsensical, ideologically outdated and harmful to voters.
Many voters often vote for parties and leaders based on the past. Many vote because their families, communities and regions supported a party historically. Others vote for parties and leaders based on ethnic, colour or regional affinity, solidarity and identification.
For example, some black voters wrongly believe they have to vote for “black” parties or “black” leaders. Many black voters wrongly say they would never vote for a “white” party or leader.
Leaders not held accountable
Many voters wrongly believe that once they have voted, they should sit back and wait for the party or leaders to deliver. Very few hold parties and leaders accountable in between elections.
South Africa’s courts have now ruled that voters can now hold elected politicians and public servants personally liable for abusing public funds. Many voters, civil society organisations and opposition parties are slow in using legal mechanisms to hold errant elected and public officials personally liable for wrongdoing.
Millions of voters, angry with the consistent failures, corruption and incompetence of the parties and leaders they voted for, stay home rather than vote, because they do not want to “betray” their parties, their families or colour, by voting for parties and leaders other than those they traditionally support.
Sadly, many South Africans still think that protesting in the street is more powerful than voting. This is seen when citizens vote for parties and leaders based on past Struggle credentials, ethnicity, black, family or communal solidarity, who then have no incentive to deliver, to govern honestly and competently.
Angry voters then protest violently against the lack of service delivery, corruption and incompetence; or citizens in the next election refuse to vote for any party — leading to the same failing parties and leaders being re-elected and subsequently failing yet again.
By voting for parties and leaders based on the past, on colour, ethnic group or family affiliation, voters give parties and leaders a free pass. Parties and leaders feel no pressure to deliver on their promises, because the same voters will always vote for them on the basis of past Struggle credentials, colour, ethnicity or family or communal affiliation.
Many voters do not understand that they can vote against their own parties and leaders, meaning that they can vote for other parties and leaders they may not traditionally support in order to hold their own parties accountable. The idea of a protest vote, for another party or leader, is an important part of voting in a democracy.
Many South African voters, unhappy with the ANC or their preferred parties, in most cases do not vote at all. This is quite ineffective. Not voting at all gives the party and leaders one is dissatisfied with a mandate to continue to govern badly.
Voters also continue to vote for parties and leaders who have anti-constitutional views, who are violent or criminal, corrupt and who weaponise South Africa’s differences and falsely claim that one colour, ethnic or one ideological group can solve the country’s problems at the expense of other communities.
Many South Africans continue to wildly support populist parties and leaders who are anti-business, anti-civil society, anti-entrepreneurship and anti-education. But poverty cannot be alleviated, unemployment cannot be tackled, and inequality cannot be slashed unless the country harnesses entrepreneurs, civil society and education.
Voters also in many cases vote for individuals who have never managed any entity outside politics or the government, or have little understanding of the real economy. South Africa is a sophisticated economy and needs leaders who have a grasp of the real economy, meaning leaders who have worked outside politics and the state — and preferably who have successfully managed or started entities outside politics and the state.
Violent leaders beget violence
Violent leaders will beget violence — development cannot take place in a climate of violence. Corrupt leaders will entrench corruption — no development is possible when corruption is rife. South Africa’s problems can only be sustainably solved by collaboration across race, colours and communities.
But voters also frequently vote for leaders based on their singing, dancing and slogan-shouting capabilities — which may be emotionally satisfying, but which does not qualify one to govern competently. Voters are often also beguiled by leaders and parties that call for “revolution”, that see the world in black and white, rather than in its full complexity, who embrace One Single Truth solutions for all the country’s complex problems, and who blame all the countries problems on apartheid, colonialism, “white monopoly capital”, Western “imperialism”, or on conspiracies by the “global system”.
Leaders who think that violent “revolution”, that “One Single Truth”, fighting “white monopoly capital”, Western “imperialism” or the “global system” are the answer to South Africa’s problems are a danger to the country and those who vote for them.
Clearly, since the end of apartheid voter education has been inadequate. Where voter education is taking place, voters are given the broader principles of voting — which include that one can voting against one’s favourite parties and leaders, that voting is not like supporting one’s favourite football club, that voting should not be based on colour, ethnicity or family preferences — but on competence. And the danger of not voting out of anger.
Voter education, alongside the Constitution and non-racialism education, must be made compulsory, starting from nursery schools through primary and high schools. This expanded form of voter education must also be made compulsory at higher education institutions. It must also be compulsory for companies to provide voter education to their employees.
Religious, traditional, cultural and sports organisations must also do so. In fact, any organisations that receive public funding must be required to provide voter education to their staff and members. Furthermore, recipients of social grants must also be required to attend voter education programmes.
Voting for leaders and parties based on the past, ethnicity, colour, communal or family affiliation, or not voting at all undermines the key principle of accountability, without which democracy cannot deliver economic prosperity, public service and peace dividends.
Voters must vote based on competence.
Unless South Africans change the way they vote, they will never get the long-awaited effective public services, the jobs and the societal safety that they, and we all, wish for and deserve. DM
This is an extract of a recent talk Gumede gave to the Electoral Commission of South Africa on the likely trajectory of South Africa’s 2026 municipal elections.