South Africa

I will make a little confession - this election blindsided me. Totally. Sure the voter turnout was horrid (expected), the election itself went relatively smoothly (expected), but it is the way the Opposition parties were completely blown out of the water that really shook me. I don't mean to say I was expecting them to kick down the doors of the ANC citadel and totally dominate in the polls. What I expected to happen was that opposition or grassroots candidates might manage to win a few wards in areas where there had been major service delivery protests. However as I documented in this post - none of that happened, it was more a case of boycott or ignore the polls and business as usual at the municipality the day after the election.

 

A lot has been written about the failings of opposition politicians in their attempts to attract new members, but surprisingly little has been written about the reasons why those on the ground are the following an ANC or nothing agenda. After my last post on the elections, hex (a big hat tip) brought up a very interesting article written by Prof. Susan Booysen (Professor of Political Studies and a research consultant at ACNeilsen). I did a bit of digging and managed to find the Press release from the original study as well as the article in question. The original study focused on the experiences, expectations and attitudes of South African's with regard to Local Government. The first part of the study is pretty standard stuff and yields nothing very surprising :

 

The survey indicated experiences of dismally low levels of local representation, as measured by visibility of, and contact with, councilors and ward committee members. Across all demographics, municipal councilors and ward committee members are virtually invisible to 80 percent of South Africa's metropolitan and urban population. Totals of 74 and 76 percent of survey respondents, respectively, report that they 'hardly ever see' their councilors and ward committee members in the communities. Adding the 6 to 7 percent of respondents who see their representatives roughly once a year, it has to be surmised that there is a daunting distance between the experienced reality and the mission of 'close contact with the people'

 

The more interesting story is the story behind the data, and for that we need to turn to the Professor Booysens article in The Star. The crux of her article is that "South Africa is witnessing the emergence of a type of local-level democracy where community protest ranks alongside voting and elections as a legitimate means to effect representation, service delivery and accountability." Let's look at the reasoning in greater depth:

 

This "new political animal" accepts and uses elections, but is unlikely to rely on mandated elected representatives to see through delivery. It will use, or be prepared to use, protest as reminders of a pledge to serve. This mode of local-level democracy holds advantages for the ANC. The predominant governing party in local government across the country sustains the allegiance of voters dissatisfied with delivery and quality of life. They can use non-electoral pressure to ensure that representatives will deliver their side of the bargain. These emerging dynamics of local government and party politics have been instigated by recent years' widespread community protests. A survey by research company ACNielsen confirms the comfortable co-existence of elections and protest in the minds of a majority of South Africans from the metropolitan and urban areas, especially black voters. 

 

So the average man on the street - having been all but ignored by his local councilor - has decided that protest is a very effective tool in getting the attention of the higher-ups. But just how effective did those at grassroots feel protest was? Well -

 

Specifically, the poll showed that more than half of urban and metropolitan South Africans support protest as "an effective way to get the municipality to deliver better services". The survey asked respondents to rate elections and protest in terms of their respective abilities to improve the quality of services in the local community. A total of 54% felt that elections do help make a difference. However 52% also supported protest against the municipality as a means to get better services. The findings thus point to a new reality: protest, as a form of direct action, has become an accepted and legitimate part of political action repertoires in democratic South Africa.

 

From 2001 on, the South African government and especially top national and provincial government, has increasingly relied on Imbizo (presidential, ministerial and provincial) to remain in contact with constituents. In contrast, protest is a contact initiative that emerged from the side of the powerless. Communities directly involved in the protests that arose from street level witnessed affirming responses from councilors, municipal officials, provincial executives, and even cabinet members. Not surprisingly, they now believe that "protest works", and have incorporated protest into their repertoire of political participation in conditions of formal democracy.

 

This goes some way in explaining the recent protests but what of the continual voting for the parties that have already delayed delivery? How can the ACNielsen poll explain that? (here comes the kicker)

 

Contrary to many perceptions, protests and its acceptance on community level appear also to demonstrate the continuous and strong relationship between the ANC and the electorate, and the fact that conventional notions of multi-party democracy often do not find full application in new and post-liberation democracies such as South Africa's. Rather, space is required for the expression of dissent and dissatisfaction, when these are not to be channeled into vote-switching to opposition parties. It is also well-known that popular dissatisfaction is infrequently channeled through the ANC's structures. Despite the ANC's hopes of responsible branch structures, few community members get satisfaction out of reporting service problems to branch meetings.

 

The ACNielsen survey powerfully demonstrates that support for the ANC does not dwindle in the face of support of protest to supplement elections. Loyalty to the ANC, and willingness to vote for this liberation movement-party, remains largely unaffected by the endorsement of protest. The survey results illustrate how the voters continue their allegiance to the ANC, amidst support for protest action, whilst the opposition parties continue to stagnate in their support. Instead of switching their votes to opposition parties, South Africans appear to combine allegiance to and electoral support for the ANC with expression of their needs and interests through protest.

 

This argument of widespread acceptance of protest to supplement elections is further substantiated through the survey findings that it is particularly the poorest of South Africa's metro and urban income categories who are distressed about the quality of services. It is also the poorest that are most unrelenting in their support of the ANC. Simultaneously, the poor are solid supporters of protest. This leaves some of the ANC's most powerful and continuously loyal constituencies as supporters of protest.

 

Could this be the answer to part of the local election riddle? It is a very tantalizing theory with a good bit of research behind it. In the eyes of most voters its the ANC and protest or nothing. No DA. no switching sides, just loyalty with periodic expressions of discontent through protests that don't effect the balance of power or alter the ANC's dominant position.

 

Where this leaves our democracy is the next question worth pondering