African National Congress Treasurer General Cde Zweli Mkhize today got up early in the morning to join millions of South African’s who cast their vote as the country marks the 20 th anniversary of democracy. Mkhize went to his home village of Willowfountain, outside Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal where he cast his vote. The village came to life in song and dance as Mkhize, accompanied by ANC volunteers, walked from his home to the voting station in Thandokuhle school. “This year’s election for me is different from the one in 1994 in that during the first general election, there was a degree of uncertainty about whether we were going to have peaceful elections,” mused Mkhize. “We had not experience of what democracy was and a lot of people thought they could do as they liked,” he said. He also remarked on one big difference between the country’s first election and today’s. “There was a lot of violence in many parts of the country even during the build up to the election. “1994 was very emotional and also very tense with a very high degree of intolerance and instability. No one could be sure if the day would end without violence as experienced as few days before the elections,” said Mkhize. “We remember a number of massacres and spates of violence which made one fearful of prospects of a free and fair election.” Mkhize spent some time talking to voters as they waited in queues. “There is such an excitement today. Some people were telling us that they have been waiting outside the polling stations two hours before the opening time. “I also met a few young people who were voting for the first time. They excitement was palpable, and they just wanted the whole world to know that they voted,” he said, adding this is an indication of how normal the South African society has become. Mkhize said even though this was not his first time voting, he was still very excited because “this is what citizenship is’’ where people can decide what form of government they would like to have. He said the ANC has run an exciting campaign talking to people in rural areas, townships, suburbs and big cities where the manifesto was discussed. “Our message right now is for all South Africans to cherish the right to vote, and understand the importance of the action of participating in the democratic process in this way,” he said.
Posted on: Wed, 07 May 2014 14:16:34 +0000
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