By Benedict Leteane
“I have very little expectations of elections mainly because of my lack of faith in the politicians. There’s no doubt that some of the candidates don’t deserve my vote.
I voted for the first time in 2004. I had no expectations at all. This was something expected from me as a citizen of the country. I was aware that voting is my voice.
I think I only grasped the idea of voting during my university days. My friends used to invite me to different student political movements, hoping I would join them. I don’t think things have changed from the time I was introduced to politics to now. We still talk about the same issues.
For this election I read five manifestos – three from the major dominant parties and two from the smaller parties.
They all spoke to me differently. What I battled to find was their mechanisms of making manifestos/recommendations practical. In other words, how are they going to make solutions possible?
If I were to vote, I would have voted because of the way in which political party is planning to address South Africa’s social ills and challenges in the next five years.
This includes substance abuse, gangsterism, domestic violence, unemployment, inequality and corruption. My main concern is the manner in which politicians or political parties intend to address these issues. I am not convinced of their walking the talk.
On a personal level, I battle to find a political party which has a full outline of disability issues.
Be that as it may, I spent election day like most inquisitive people – glued on various media platforms listening to analysts reflecting on the outcomes of the elections.”
