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The Popular Vote?
November 10, 2000
Sir/Madam,
The bombastic statements and deplorable behaviour on the platforms of the parties contending as prize-fighters to be the next representatives of the interest of the rich and powerful beckoned me to comment.
The expression of utter contempt for the masses of the people - the body politic - reduced in the eyes of the prize-fighters to mere voting statistics was most despicably uttered by the Wade Mark last weekend.
As with massah of old, he demanded that the teachers show gratitude for the "handout" of a salary increase thanking the boss for his mercy by staining their fingers for the rising sun.
Imagine one whose credential is presented as being a trade unionist considering workers in such condecending and contemptuous tones.
Whatever teachers, daily paid workers, any workers gain in terms of improving their lot in this society is a result of their struggle. Nothing is given on a platter out of the goodness of massah's heart.
Bombaye yuh go see am. The truth of how even this increase for teachers was manipulated by the party in power to bring its commencement close to elections precisely for the purpose vote-catching will come out. And, such is the case with so many other things as they seek to manipulate people's opinion into voting for them.
But while more can be said about this (and will be), there was further development in the land of the "best democracy" which conjured up fears for the leader of the UNC and prompted his immediate comment.
At the end of the US presidential election, wonder of wonders, the yankee version of 17-17-2. Based on the result on election night and in the recount, a new president not having won the popular vote nationwide, will most likely take office by a majority of less than 500 votes in a single state.
Imagine millions of people voting and less than 500 determine the outcome!
Well, whether it is electoral college or our own first past the post system, the dilemma of this so-called representative democracy is exposed. The winner of the majority of the votes cast does not necessarily get to rule.
Ironically, the only argument that one political expert in the US could come up with against the calls for changing their electoral system to allow the majority of the vote to determine the winner was that it would lead to greater opportunities for corruption.
Well, what this development tells us is that this electoral process as part of the political process of so-called representative democracy is not the "best democracy" after all.
The body politic is marginalised and its will (even in the limited situation where it has to vote for candidates it does not choose) is not even allowed to prevail by majority of the popular vote.
Those who happily supported one man, one vote in South Africa must take the mote out of their own eye and set about revamping the electoral process so that the even the simple idea of the popular vote can become a reality.
Again, the case is eloquently made by the process itself for the renewal of the political process.
PS - The UNC leader's fright at the possibility of a 17-17-1-1 are well founded as the political prize-fighters seek to mobilise and divide the body politic on the basis of primordial concerns rather than their own vital interests.
I hope he will not then turn around and blame the people for that situation.
HOMEPAGE
Copyright © Clyde Weatherhead
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