Minutes after learning his party would have no representation in the National Assembly after a poor performance in Wednesday’s general election, National Action (NA) leader Cassie Aucamp quipped that he would have no choice but to stand on a street corner begging for money.
“I was asked if I am going to join the Freedom Front Plus, but I said I think I’m going to get a sign saying: ‘Young wife, children, no job’,” he told bystanders at the election results centre in Pretoria.
Aucamp learnt just after 2pm that the NA would get no parliamentary seats. His party had garnered 0,1% of the votes captured by 3pm on Friday.
He described it as a huge disappointment, saying he never expected it.
“I thought our third seat would be the worrying issue, not the first.”
Aucamp said it became clear within the first half-hour of vote counting that his party was in trouble. Nevertheless, he remained hopeful of getting one slot in terms of the seat allocation procedure, which makes provision for surplus seats to be awarded to smaller parties.
Having done his calculations by 2pm, however, it became clear this would not materialise.
He remained convinced that the NA’s policies and solutions were what South Africa needed, and said he would make sure they were promoted. How this would be done, he could not say.
“Voters cast their ballots in this election not for policy but for media icons,” he lamented.
A former insurance broker turned preacher turned politician, Aucamp’s five-year political career came to a sudden end on Friday.
“For the immediate future, I will have to find something to do to pay the bills. Only then will I start to rationally contemplate my future.”
Political alliances were not on the menu, he said.
Aucamp started his political career as leader of the Afrikaner Eenheidsbeweging five years ago. He took his single parliamentary seat with him when he founded the NA in 2002.
Before leaving the results centre, Aucamp joked that he intended to get as much out of it as he could.
“I think I’ll go have lunch first.” — Sapa
Special Report: Elections 2004