Odds and Evens

Tomorrow we go to the polls to vote for a new government. I received a timely e-mail from my aunt in America to say that she'd seen some pictures of "your new man in South Africa", referring to Jacob Zuma, probable new President.

"He seems to like dancing around dressed in animal skins...don't you think that's a little odd?"

I guess it does seem a little odd in the international context. (I couldn't help trying to conjure up some mental images of other world leaders prancing about in traditional dress. It did put a smile of my face, I must admit.)

A little more odd to us, though, are his vociferous cries against corruption - for which he is / isn't supposed to stand trial (depending on the mood of the day) - and the fight against HIV/Aids, in light of his 'showering after unprotected sex with a known Aids victim' debacle.

On the positive side, though, here's a leader who speaks from the heart, doesn't speak down to his audience and thinks about what he's saying as opposed to reading pre-prepared responses. Despite his rather odd actions, an element of sincerity eminates from him, which is rather appealing, if a little frightening. All rather odd indeed.

On the Evens, the split in the African National Congress (ANC) that gave rise to the breakway Congress of the People (COPE) party, adds an interesting element to these elections. Results have traditionally been a certain ANC runaway victory, with a very second-place Democratic Alliance (DA) as official opposition and not much else featuring. While COPE is unlikely to do much damage at the polls to the ANC, the DA certainly seems to have strengthened considerably, gaining credibility from the bickering of the other two.

The likelihood is an ANC victory by a slightly diminished margin, with the DA as official opposition, with substantially more support than they've enjoyed previously. However, the possible alliances that could spring up could prove interesting, with some rather strange bedfellows.

It would be rather nice to have at least a fair number of COPE candidates winning seats in Parliament - after all, who could level effective criticism and provide expose`s quite as effectively as dissidents who once formed part of the ANC's inner circle?

Corruption amongst officials, rampant crime and pathetic service delivery in this country is certainly not the dream Nelson Mandela envisaged, yet support for the ruling party seems unabated - rather odd.

On the evens, though, we still have a democracy - and a democracy where corrupt officials are still charged and disciplined, a feature not to be taken for granted in Africa.

Well, tomorrow will come and go - after which there'll probably be a lot more excitement about the 2010 Soccer World Cup than there was about our elections.