Elections

Well, the elections finally came, and have gone...

On 22 April 2009 we all went to the polls to cast our votes. We didn't have to wait too long to vote, because we went in the afternoon, but many of the reports from around the country say that the queues were only ever this long in 1994. So the country took this one seriously!

Our town hall where we voted...

The extent of our queue. The queue did carry on inside the foyer a bit, and into the hall, but it really wasn't bad.

Some people ahead of us casting their vote.

The mark (which is almost gone now) to show that I took part in this democratic process in an effort to make this country better.

The results are now official, and I personally am very happy with how it all worked out. The ANC got 65.9% in the national election, so they did not get their two thirds majority again. I think that we are all relieved about that, although they didn't make any major changes to the constitution in their last term, I feel it is better for one party not to have that power. Jacob Zuma will be sworn in as the country's president next week.

And in the Western Cape the DA got an outright majority, and Helen Zille will be sworn in as our new premier next week. She has been the mayor of Cape Town for the last few years, and I think by far the most effective mayor that we've had in years, so I think the future is bright for the Western Cape.

I also feel quite strongly that although there are a great many South Africans who do not want Jacob Zuma as our president, the reality is that he is. And we now need to deal with that fact, and look for the positives that will happen over the next five years. There will be positives. I know that. There will in all likelihood be negatives too, but there have been over all of the last 15 years, so we cannot say that everything bad that happens can be laid at his feet.

Despite Zuma's history, we need to give him a chance to govern this country. The people have spoken, and although there are many who are uneducated in this majority, there are many who are educated and who don't have anything to gain personally, and yet they have thrown their support behind this man. We need to stop holding onto the past, and have an open mind as we view the future. If we don't, we will only make ourselves miserable, and things still won't change. But if we can be positive, then I'm very confident that we'll find that the future is not bleak, and there is still much reason to be happy to live in South Africa.

I'm still very happy and proud to be South African!