The 2009 elections are over. Voting is done, and the ANC won. No surprises there.
What I am incredibly excited about is that the ANC did not get the two-thirds majority required to alter the constitution. We have a good constitution here in SA (in fact, it could be the best in the world) and I don’t think anyone should be changing it anytime soon.
So victory #1 goes to the people who allowed our democracy to stay competitive. Nice going.
I am also extremely impressed with the DA and there outcomes. They won the Western Cape (the only province not won by the ANC).
Victory #2 goes to them for maintaining the position as the main opposition to the ANC.
But for me, the overwhelming excitement of the 2009 elections was a combination of a few things:
Cope winning ± 30 seats in parliament.
The IFP dwindling in to almost nothing.
Smaller parties just about disappearing.
The three things above prove to me that we are in a very active, thriving democracy. The numbers may indicate that the ANC feel a mere 3 seats short of 2/3 majority. But there are indicators that tell us that we are doing OK.
I think that having 18 parties in parliament is a bit ridiculous. That was the last elections. This time round it’s been whittled down to ±10 parties. That is a much more manageable number in my opinion.
All in all, I am proud to be South African and to have voted in the 2009 elections. You should be too.
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Popularity: 5% [?]
April 29th, 2009 at 11:53 am
Hold your horses!
True, the elections have not produced the anarchy, mayhem, massacres and ensuing military coups so quintessential election aftermaths on the African continent. Is that reason enough to praise South Africa as the “best democracy in the world?” I believe such claim is ludicrous and absurd.
The ANC finished 3 seats short of the 2/3 majority that would allow it to fiddle with the constitution as it pleases. Led by a bigamist and ex-convict, the ANC makes a mockery of democratic characteristics and trademarks and can easily win the 3 crucial seats from one of the 7 minor parties seated in parliament. Fact is: the ANC is in the same position as it was before the election, and sadly so is South Africa.
If it had not been for COPE the ANC would have finished well beyond 70% of the votes. That is not democracy but one-party rule.
February 19th, 2010 at 3:19 am
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