Election Fever is gone, what is next for our country?

By Sandisio Ndlovana

The election buzz and feel is truly beyond us now. Political parties spent much time devising strategies and invested millions in efforts to convince voters.

The voting citizens were kept abreast about recent occurrences and the coverage was not-to-be-missed. The word manifestos became recognisable with us all. And in campaign season, voters were held to task in an effort to separate the prima donnas from the blueprint.

No doubt the exercise of assessing which party to vote for was a daunting task, particularly for those ‘born-free’. Essentially, what a voter requires is accountability from their chosen leader. The great neglect is the inability of the citizen to follow up on the progress made by whoever is elected.

It is often said that the true test for voting preference is the service delivery that follows. From a satisfaction point, one may safely assert that the time frame for evaluating advancement on the issue is primitive. But after the magic ‘x’ has been cast, what does the broader outcome mean?

We have witnessed everything regarding the past elections. Each of us knows where his/her favourite political party stands. Now what must we expect from our representatives?

The ANC has always talked about the national development plan. The citizen believed and voted despite all negative things said about the ANC. The question, however, is what are the ANC's plans for change and for creating good image for the organization that seemingly has been ruined. Are we going to see more or less of corruption cases, strikes, internal dispute and disagreement within the organization’s alliance?

What about the president? Mr. Jacob Zuma, is regarded as the least competent president ever lead democratic South Africa. Should the country expect another scandal after the controversial Nkandla house upgrade? With his leadership, where should we expect the country to be the next time people cast votes? Will the opposing political parties be strong enough to shake the ANC throne?

We haven’t had good news about the official opposition party recently. The DA, since their parliament leader Lindiwe Mazibuko left to study overseas; there have been big stories about the party's internal dispute. Reports say the DA leader Mrs. Zille launched a scathing attack against Miss Mazibuko. According to Sunday times, this attack has sent shock waves through DA, which is embroiled in a bitter battle over black leadership.

At a federal executive last Friday, Zille said she has made Mazibuko and saved her several times. She implied that Mazibuko had been incompetent and that she had been of her depth. However, federal executive chair James Selfe said on Saturday that the meeting had not been tense and emotive,'' there was an honest and frank debate. It was robust but without rancor and there was a great deal of honesty'', he said.

Zille's attack on her parliament leader come a week after Mazibuko announced she was resigning from her post in order to study at Harvard in the US. Earlier in the week, Zille said that there had been a strong possibility that Mazibuko would have lost the election as the DA's parliament leader. She said that she had offered Mazibuko the Gauteng premier candidacy but that had turned down. With such issues surrounding DA, the people who voted for them must surely be losing confidence in the party.

On the other hand, the most controversial political party the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) seems to have a plan. They say they will use parliament seats efficiently. Party member ,Mr Dali Mpofu said, ''the EFF is the government in waiting''.


A young 14 year old boy Jacqueline Mojela from Johannesburg said '' Julius Malema is like a father to me, I want to fellow in his footsteps’’.

If the young generation feels so about EFF leader, these could be the sign of a brighter future for the organization. Hopefully, the EFF will stick to its motto and  serve the people as promised

With all political parties facing challenges after the elections; some have lost many votes when comparing to the 2009 elections, others are experiencing internal dispute about who will represent them at the national parliament. Surely then, the next elections will be far more interesting then the recent.

The citizens at large are expecting change and I have no doubt in mind that the next five years is crucial for South African politics.