The results of the 2004 election look as if they are a pretty exact reflection of the will of South Africans — one of the key tests for any country claiming to be democratic. And for this, we should once again pay homage to the efforts of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).
Despite minor administrative problems and some ham-fisted attempts by political parties to influence voters, the IEC has run an election notable for its efficiency and absence of incident.
This is all the more remarkable because a decade ago South Africa had no electoral law or system capable of ensuring that all South Africans could take part in electing their rulers. The country’s first democratic election was a ramshackle affair, with ballot papers being airlifted to voting stations long after polls had opened, rumours of missing or stuffed ballot boxes and the final result perhaps decided more by political negotiation than the strict counting of ballot papers.
In its third stab at organising a general election, the IEC has outdone itself. Voters could check whether they were registered at automatic tellers, most voting stations confirmed by SMS that they had opened on time, and almost 60% of the vote had been counted by 1pm the day after the poll — and the results made widely known.
If the legitimacy of an election lies in how it is perceived by the public and the parties who are contesting the poll, the IEC can claim further success. Public trust in the commission is high, and none of the parties has so far registered serious complaints about how the election has been administered. Rather, they have chosen to submit complaints about alleged misconduct by their rivals during the poll to the IEC. Where questions were raised about the political independence of officials of the commission, the IEC has moved swiftly to deal with them by, among other measures, removing them from their posts.
If the Inkatha Freedom Party makes good its threat to take the IEC to court, we suggest it will be for political reasons. One can safely assume it will not happen if the IFP wins KwaZulu-Natal.
But a truly democratic election requires more than an efficient electoral machine — it requires voters in sufficient numbers to give legitimacy to the poll. It should not be forgotten that in Zimbabwe in the 1990s, Zanu-PF continued to win elections by overwhelming majorities, but with less and less of the electorate turning out to vote.
Seventy-five percent of registered voters made their cross on Wednesday — a very respectable figure compared to turnouts in other democracies. A strong democratic system rests on a citizenry that both knows its rights and exercises them.
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