LETTER: Change is the key word for upcoming elections

The 2024 national elections are only nine months away, with all political parties focused on finding ways to convince voters to vote for them.

This is arguably the most important election as we hope to change from an ANC government that has not lived up to the expectations of the populace after the party gained the mandate to govern this country in 1994.

No-one expected perfection during the early years of their governance. We all presumed that, given time, the ANC government would mature and give us the results we all hoped for. Instead they ruined everything that was good for the country as they stumbled from one crisis to another.

As we prepare ourselves, we are aware that there is too much at stake this time around. The possibility that there are grounds for vote rigging in the upcoming elections cannot be dismissed as some will go to any lengths to seize power. The Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) had better develop a strategy to detect such dishonesty.

No-one can predict the outcome of the elections. While political parties are preparing themselves for coalition partners, it is possible that by some unexpected twist of fate, the ANC might still have the majority votes. I think it would be wise for political parties not to be caught napping if such an unlikely outcome occurred.

The world-acclaimed constitution — which has proved to be the root of all evil that this country has suffered, starting with an electoral system that gives unlimited power to the appointment of the president only to branches of the ANC — is so flawed that the ANC has found itself with undesirable presidential candidates who inspire no confidence but it has no choice but to go along with the decision of its branches. That must change.

All the destructive changes to the education and health systems must be thoroughly examined and changed. Open border control systems must change. Cadre deployment, which has destroyed all state-owned enterprises by deploying to important leadership positions people who have no qualifications or experience, must change, as it is solely responsible for the downward spiral of everything that was good in the country.

All these changes will also help to enforce co-operation and harmony in a coalition government, should there be no outright winner of the elections. May the best political party win to restore stability in the country.

Cometh Dube-Makholwa
Midrand

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