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My understanding of democracy




This was written around 2011.  What is happening now in South Africa reminds me that we need to talk some more about what is democracy.  Democracy is one of those concepts that everyone believe that they understand better than others. It is used and praised when it suits people and mocked and disowned when it does not. There is a lot of academic and non-academic definitions for it. In fact what is democracy? The South African Concise Oxford Dictionary defines it as “A form of government in which the people have a voice in the exercise of power, typically through their elected representatives. It is control of a group by a majority of its members”. For such a column this definition suffices.

I want to reflect on what has shaped my understanding of democracy as I got involved in organizations at a very early age and had to deal with what we viewed as democracy since then. I learnt as far back that democracy will not always make you happy and you must live with that.
In the Mafikeng Congress of the ANC in 1997 I was part of a delegation representing the branches of the Western Cape and we were mandated to vote for certain candidates. Our guys did not get into the top positions that we targeted. We wanted Steve Tshwete to be the Chairperson but Mosiua Lekota was the candidate voted in by the majority of conference delegates. After dealing with the disappointment we sang our hearts out that Lekota is our leader and we were prepared to defend him. That’s democracy for me.

The advent of the Congress of The People (COPE) also raised questions about adhering to democratic practices. There were allegations that the organization was formed by people who could not accept that Thabo Mbeki did not get majority support for leading the ANC in the Polokwane congress. This could just be a simplistic view that seeks to tarnish the image of COPE. If it is true then COPE deserve worse than they are currently dealing with as an organization.

As a democrat I support people’s right to protest but I am skeptical of violent protests that call for the resignation of Municipal Councilors. I believe that this tactic can be used by people who failed at the ballot box to try and remove legitimately elected Councilors. This is different and should in no way be confused with protests in the mid-eighties that aimed at the system and those serving in it. Those protests were aimed at destroying the “toy telephones” that blacks in general were given. The current protests are not challenging the system but individuals and this makes me wonder why not wait for the next election so as to vote this person out. Some people argue that democracy dictates that the majority should have its way whenever they want it. The issue for me is that burning property is no signal that you have the trust of the community. Who said the hundred people that we see on the television speak for the majority in that community. It is easy to collect people and burn tyers and disrupt life in the township without a community mandate. The media gives coverage to this “tyre brigade” and they get elevated to spokespersons of the Community.
I have no problem with people protesting to voice their dissatisfaction but to say the only outcome that will satisfy you is for a Councilor to vacate his seat smacks of opportunism. Those who know me will bear testimony to the fact that I debate issues and am nobody’s sycophant and this has invited insults from those who would rather I keep quiet and tow the line. This I will never do as it would be a disservice to the memory of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for us to be where we are today. What I will also never do is to lightly demand that people who were legitimately elected must step down before their term of office is over. If we do that we will not learn the lesson that the opportunity to vote is important and our votes must be utilized after careful considerations. If we elect pigs we are stuck with them for five years. Those who fail to be elected must also not be pigs who want to topple the system because they think it is their time to feed. 

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