Johannesburg voters were in good spirits on Wednesday as they waited outside the polls to cast their vote in the local government elections. Friends and neighbours came in pairs or groups and engaged in conversation while waiting their turn at the ballot box.
The Mail & Guardian covered polls over five general income levels and backgrounds in Johannesburg: Alexandra, Hillbrow, Yeoville, Melville and Westcliff; and the biggest worry among voters across the board was a lack of service delivery.
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The message echoed by all voters was a call for change — even those who were voting for the same party they had favoured in the past, in the hope that something might improve eventually.
But Adam Mollo, a 70-year-old pensioner from Alexandra, said he was tired of waiting for a house.. He was so jaded that he decided to change his vote for the first time since the first democratic elections in 1994.
“I’ve been voting for the same party since 1994. This time I didn’t vote for the same party. I voted with my thoughts,” he said.
“I’ve seen no change. I’ve been on the housing list since 1996 and every time I ask them [about my house] they tell me I must still wait. I see these houses going up in front of me. I hope somebody will change something for me.”
Lina Mashilo of Westcliff told the M&G that she was “gatvol”.
“I changed my vote since last year. I am gatvol of this. Schooling is bad and there are potholes everywhere. I changed my vote to get better services. If they don’t do it then I will get them too,” she said of her new party.
Danisile Ndaba (70) is a Hillbrow resident. She says that she felt okay after voting, but was not entirely happy.
“I’ve been voting most of the time. Nothing has come right my side. I’m still waiting for a house. I now live with my sister, but there has been no improvement,” she said.
“I have voted for the same party for years and years. This is the first year I changed my vote. I hope there will be change.”
Eighteen-year-old Charlie Moche from Melville was outside Melpark Primary, Melville, waiting for a friend who had gone in to vote.
“I’m not voting this year. I can’t make up my mind about who to vote for,” he said.
“I need a party that interacts with the youth positively, who can bring about change and can show results. I need a party that doesn’t get as much criticism as these parties. So I decided not to vote,” said Moche.
Most voters, however, said they were sticking to what they knew and were sure of their choices, even though they said not much had changed for them.
Nokwanda Xaba, a 21-year-old woman from Yeoville, said she would be voting for the same party as before because they promised change.
“They said we must vote so they can deliver. I need a job. Unemployment is really bad, and rentals in Yeoville are really high. I’m suffering.”
Louisa Mayonga from Hillbrow said she would never change her vote — “no matter what”.
As one man in a queue said, “I can’t move to a Mickey Mouse party. I need one that has sustained support so that I can get change.”
For exclusively M&G articles and multimedia on the local government elections 2011 click here: