Mar 28 2009
South Africa gearing up for elections and other issues
Please allow me to introduce myself.
They call me the naked blogger, resident in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Now someone may realise that the picture has a view of the ocean while Johannesburg (or Joburg as it is commonly known) is inland. Very inland. The picture is from a recent trip to Durban - a tropical South African city on the Indian Ocean.
There is a slight connection between the Indian Ocean and this post. South Africa has been in the spotlight with the 2010 FIFA World Cup just over a year away, the Dalai Lama visa debacle and the Indian Professional League having chosen this land for their 2009 tournament.
India and South Africa share the Indian Ocean. The Indian elections presented a security problem for the league. South Africa was asked and agreed to host it. We have all the facilities and security needed and some great stadiums. We also have a lot less rain than the UK - the other hosting option. Durban is one of the cities where cricket is played.
South Africa’s fourth democratic general election is three weeks away and the campaigning is intensifying. The first three elections gave the African National Congress (ANC) a huge lead against the other parties. It seemed that the ANC would be able to muster up a majority on a more or less permanent basis. But politics and democracy are never quite as predictable as they may seem.
A dramatic change in leadership within the ANC has led to a section of the party breaking out to form the Congress Of the People or COPE. A number of former ANC leaders have joined the swing and the election outcome has become quite uncertain. The ANC itself is predicting that they will take 61% of the vote but a survey conducted by the HSRC predicted a vote of 47% for the ruling party.
If this is the case then the ANC (for the first time since 1994) will be running a government without a parliamentary majority. The rest of the vote will be split between the Democratic Alliance (DA - currently the official opposition), COPE whose strength is unknown, and a number of smaller parties.
If the ANC does not win 50% plus 1 vote then the ANC will have to take parliamentary opposition seriously.
Which just goes to show - democracy is healthy and alive in South Africa. People will not blindly follow a party even if it did lead the country to freedom and democracy.
Another burning and disturbing issue has been the refusal of a visa to the Dalai Lama to participate in a pre World Cup Peace Conference. It seems that his presence would upset China - though why South Africa should worry about that I do not know. An ANC cabinet minister and a constitutional court judge have both made their vies on this felt. The leader of the IFP (Inkatha Freedom Party) is taking the government to court over the issue.
A bit of a blot on the SA government, and strange to hear the foreign minister saying that politics and sports shouldn’t mix!
