Wednesday's voting took place in the shadow of one of the largest security operations South Africa bas seen in recent months, aimed at "making polling stations safe for the public", according to the Ministry of Law and Order. With some results still outstanding, the government has claimed it has received a clear mandate for its reform recipe.
However, Titus Mafolo, executive member of the United Democratic Front, speaking on behalf of the organisation's unrestricted affiliates, described it as a "gunpoint election (that) failed to coerce our people to give political support to apartheid structures. These diametrically opposing conclusions are being drawn as preliminary figures are juggled to see just how many black South Africans went to the municipal polls this week.
Preliminary estimates – not all of the results were available yesterday suggest that fewer than half a million Africans chose to cast their votes. This figure represents about 10 percent of eligible adults, excluding those in "independent" and "self- governing" homelands and farm-workers living outside townships. The implications of this low level of participation are made more dramatic because the figures must be seen against a background of:
- Unprecedented government campaigns to stimulate interest in the polls;
- The introduction of the controversial prior voting system;
- A sharp increase in repressive measures in the run-up to the election; O Barring of anti election agitation;
- Disputed voters' rolls; and,
- Widespread allegation of fraud.
Minister of Constitutional Development Chris Heunis announced yesterday that “the government's objectives were undoubtedly met … The lack of knowledge and the attendant apathy among a significant number of people in our country are things which we cannot change overnight. Even so, the insults were a victory for those who wanted the extension of democracy …
The people of South Africa have voted for peaceful development Democracy (and) black participation in decision-making on the local level is a reality in 24& black local authorities.” But opponents say only a fraction of African adults conferred credibility on the local authority system by taking part. In a statement yesterday, Archbishop Desmond Tutu aim throw doubt on government claims.
"The government's interpretation of the election statistics amounts to a ‘heads we win, tales you lose' logic. How can there be a solid mandate when half the seats for blacks were not oven contested? How does a 10 or 12 percent poll in Soweto constitute a solid mandate?” he asked.
Mafolo said the overwhelming majority of eligible voters stayed away from the polls "despite the unprecedented and massive repressive forces in the townships. “Once more, this is a vote of no confidence in Botha's constitutional Initiatives," he said.
According to Richard Humphries of the University of the Witwatersrand's Centre for Policy Studies, “it may well turn out, once all the results are available, that there is a nominal increase in the number of votes cast'. “But it will not be the significant change of black hearts and minds that the government was hoping for – despite the extensive publicity campaigns around the elections and the township upgrading programmes.”
Minister of Information Stoffel van der Merwe announced on the day before voting that publicity campaigns had resulted in a “90 percent awareness" of the elections among black South Africans.
