The ‘Vote No’ campaign, officially titled ‘Sidikiwe! Vukani! VOTE NO!’ was launched on 15 April. The campaign calls for registered voters to protest against the current government’s inefficiency by spoiling their vote or voting strategically by voting for any party other than the ANC.
The ‘Vote No’ campaign, officially titled ‘Sidikiwe! Vukani! VOTE NO!’ was launched on 15 April. The campaign calls for registered voters to protest against the current government’s inefficiency by spoiling their vote or voting strategically by voting for any party other than the ANC.
The campaign’s public statement claims their aim is to make a tactical protest against the alleged corruption, cronyism and general decline of Constitutional Rights.
The campaign condemns the present government and holds them responsible for issues such as Nkandlagate, the killing of Andries Tatane and the Marikana massacre.
The campaign was launched by Ronnie Kasrils, who was Minister for Intelligence Services from 2004-2008.
Launched less than a month before the national election, the campaign is yet to have a large effect on South African politics.
Dr Nomalanga Mkhize, of the History Department at Rhodes University, said that the campaign was simply a statement by Kasrils.
“Spoiling your vote is really not a visible form of protest,” said Mkhize. “Really Kasrils just wanted to make the statement: don’t vote for the ANC.”
Mkhize added that the “big names” on the campaign had failed to read the constituencies.
“Can civil society and these no-longer ANC leaders sit down for a moment and just look at what is emerging on the ground and what is bubbling, rather than just lashing out three weeks before the elections?” said Mkhize.
“It is reactionary, it’s a bit desperate.”
In Grahamstown, knowledge of the campaign is scarce.
Of those who know about the campaign, many feel that it is not a viable response to dealing with the problems the country faces.
South Africa works on a system of representational democracy.
This means that only the legitimate votes count towards who is elected to Parliment.
A spoiled vote in that sense lessens the number of usable votes, meaning that the fewer usuable votes, the more each vote has weight.
