As the endgame of the 1999 elections approaches, a rather shrill, near-hysterical note, has been introduced into the electoral process by the opposition parties.
At the best of times it must be extremely disheartening to enter a contest that a player knows he/she is bound to lose. Perhaps this explains the attitude of the two parties that are now competing for second place - each is trying to outdo the other in demonstrating how tough they can be against the ANC.
Recklessness invariably becomes the hallmark of those motivated by desperation. Recklessness with the facts; recklessness with voter perceptions; recklessness about the future that all parties must share once the dust of the elections has settled.
True to the traditions and practice of its parent, the New National Party (NNP) trades on the baser instincts of its actual and potential constituency. In the certainty that fear makes people a little less national, the stock in trade of the old and the New National Party is the incitement of fear, loathing and insecurity among the electorate.
Most alarmingly, during the course of these elections, the Democratic Party (DP), under the leadership of Tony Leon, has chosen to join and compete with the NNP in promoting the politics of despair. For its pains, the DP has won the support of a motley crew among whom can be counted White racists, unabashed bigots, unreconstructed old Nats and others who stand opposed to any meaningful change that can transform South Africa into a non-racial democracy.
According to a Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) survey, 40% of White voters do not trust the Independent Electoral Commission. (IEC). The leader of the Federal Alliance, Dr Louis Luyt, brazenly declares that he has no confidence in the Constitutional Court. The NNP first submits a complaint about ANC nepotism to the Public Protector, but when he finds their complaint groundless, imply that he didn't really apply his mind to the matter. And so it goes on.
Opposition parties who thus undermine the institutions of our infant democracy, through manipulative and demagogic electioneering, must accept that their words have consequences.
The two parties that waged a court battle against the IEC must accept full responsibility for the low levels of confidence that White voters reportedly have in that institution. We still await the crop of the actions and words of the ex-Rugby supremo and the NNP's cynicism. South Africa will go to the polls on June 2nd. And, the people of this country will make their voice heard. All political parties and groups should fulfil their obligations to support the work of the IEC and other national institutions to ensure that these elections are free and fair.
A second variant of the opposition parties' recklessness is the clamour they have made about the ANC's alleged intention to attain a two-thirds majority. Each of these parties has larded these scare tactics with the claim that the ANC wants to change the Consti!!!tution.
Amazingly, it is precisely the opposition parties who advocate policies and measures that will require that the Constitution be changed. To realise the DP's ideal of power devolved further to the provinces, will require changes to the Constitution. To enable the NNP to "hang rapists and killers", will require changes to the Constitution. To abolish the institutions we have created to protect and defend democracy - such as the Commission on Gender Equality, the Human Rights Commission, and the Constitutional Court - will require changes to the Constitution. To get rid of the rights of citizens to privacy, the laws of habeas corpus, and a number of other protections that the "hang them high" brigade of the NNP demand, will require changes to the Constitution.
These are just a few examples of the demagogy and reckless policy proposals that the opposition parties are trumpeting in the hustings. If the truth be told, the ANC is the only party that could implement its election manifesto without changing the Constitution.
The promotion of such proposals reveals the real extent of the opposition parties' commitment to the Constitution. They focus on the alleged "danger" of the ANC registering an overwhelming majority is transparently hypocritical and the lowest form of demagogy.
The real threat to democracy in South Africa is the manipulative and reckless electioneering of the opposition, not the fact that the ANC enjoys the support of the majority of South Africans.
Issued by the African National Congress,
Elections Media Centre,
Braamfontein.
13 May 1999