LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Make like a banana and split (your vote) By Daily Maverick Reader
The ANC will win the national vote. It will govern;The Zuma faction within the ANC still has power; andI am a political pragmatist – which means that I believe we need to vote in the best way we can, given the set of political realities with which we are faced. I see no reason to vote emotionally or with any kind of historical bias. Protest votes don’t interest me. I abhor radicalism, and populism is the worst kind of democracy.
I’m a centrist, a capitalist and – more or less – born into a democratic South Africa. As a voter, my choice has always seemed clear: the ANC or the DA. This choice has always been defined by the following considerations:Ideologically, the ANC and the DA are very similar. On some issues, like land distribution, economic policies and education, I come down on the side of the ANC. On other issues, like press freedom and foreign policy, I side with the DA.
The Zuma faction is still there, still powerful; any excuse to get rid of Ramaphosa and install someone from their own faction, and they will use it. A weak showing for the ANC in this election – weaker than any showing Zuma made – and we will have given them that excuse. And then we will have truly driven off the cliff. It is in the best interest of the ANC, and the country, for Ramaphosa to be as strong as he can be.
So how do you let both the ANC and the DA know that they need to be better; to do better? How do you punish both the ANC and the DA? How do you make sure the opposition remains strong, but that Cyril Ramaphosa secures his presidency?To secure a strong opposition, give them your provincial vote. I wouldn’t hate it, for example, if the IFP won KwaZulu-Natal, or if the EFF took Limpopo, or the DA won Gauteng.
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