In light of the wave of exciting and nervous anticipation of the elections looming in South Africa on the 29th of May, it would be interesting to delve into the minds of voters and to psychoanalyze their preferences when crossing their X’s at the polls. What causes people to vote in a particular manner for a particular party? Voters are not only coercively urged to vote for a certain party, but it stems deeper than that.
They would most likely vote for a party in which they align their struggles with in a historical context. And what that party will do is to play on these emotions relating to past struggle to convince the voter that voting for any other party would mean a return to those struggles and in our case, a return to apartheid (notwithstanding the fact that apartheid simply could not return in any case).
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People have a natural inclination to desist from changing what they think works in fear of worsening their already dire situations. People, especially in the rural areas are prone to such habits. They know no other party other than the party they were initially led to vote for. A change from that party would, in their minds, lead to their doom. This is why political education especially in the rural areas in quintessentially imperative, to psycho-analytically deconstruct people’s ingrained beliefs that there is only just one option of political rule.
They may perceive things to be good and to their favour but it should never mean things cannot get better and as far as we know, very little is in fact in their favour. But we have inter alia seen a sharp decrease in voter confidence for parties such as the ANC from the younger voters who have in recent years become more enlightened to the fact that perhaps there are other better and more viable options when it comes to party preference. This brings much hope that in rural areas where parties like the ANC are performing appallingly, people will begin to change their mindsets into moving away from these ingrained beliefs and to more enlightened thoroughfares.
Another factor that makes voters gullible is the election campaigning that these parties partake on during election season. They go on an odyssey of bargaining and lying to citizens across the country for their votes. They come with promises of a better life, free education, water and sanitation, an improved health-care and every other fabrication they have been promising marginalised South Africans since the advent of democracy. So why then, do people not see that these will always be merely just that, promises?
It goes back to the human neurological design, or like a relationship where your partner does wrong and keeps returning to apologise and you forgive them in the hope that they will change but they never do. Human beings have this indispensable nature of attachment not only to relationships, but believe it or not, even to political parties themselves. Our ability to break such attachments will ultimately channel us in the right direction. And perhaps that is what we need.
It also may be wise on our part as voters to realise that political parties are not the only entities that can foster genuine change within our communities. There are various organisations and even church organisations that do incredible work, and so perhaps our entire perception on what makes us grow and move forward as a country needs to be interrogated. But nonetheless, see you at the polls.