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21 March 2024 Photo SUPPLIED
Dr-Ina-Gouws
Dr Ina Gouws is a Senior Lecturer: Political Studies and Governance, at the University of the Free State.

Opinion article Dr Ina Gouws, Senior Lecturer: Political Studies and Governance, University of the Free State.


In a year where at least 64 countries will hold elections, it is inevitable that we reflect on issues such as the right to vote, the importance of voting, and the role of elections in a democratic process. The truth is, since the earliest elections were held in Greece in around 508 BC, exclusions were part of the process. Only wealthy landowners were allowed to vote. Male landowners, that is. The first popular election where all citizens could vote, and the majority vote won, is believed to have taken place in Sparta in 745 BC. For many centuries, examples like these were very few.

The right to vote

The history of the right to vote is mostly depicted in the history of suffrage – defined as ‘franchise’, or the right to vote – and the exercising of that right. These movements are rooted in the plight of minority groups and generally disenfranchised groups (those discriminated against, such as the poor and the landless), and their fight for the right to vote. You can easily read up on the most chronicled movements in history, such as Women’s Suffrage. The bravery, determination, and suffering endured to secure the right to vote is legendary. And once they finally won the right to vote, this did not mean they could run for office. Another fight was ahead for this democratic right. The Civil Rights movement in America is another example of a movement where the disenfranchised fought for, amongst other civil rights, the right to vote. This included, of course, black women, who were discriminated against from within various Women’s Suffrage movements.

In South Africa, the history of the right to vote is entangled with our colonial history. After the two Boer Wars, decisions had to be made as to who would be the decision-makers going forward. In the Cape Colony, all races had the right to vote – but only if you were male and had the economic qualifications, which means only the male elite across races could vote. In the negotiations to unify the Boer republics with the Cape Colony and Natal at the time, black people’s right to vote came under scrutiny. When South Africa finally became a union, its Constitution was put forward to the British government for approval. The British government was not keen to allow voting rights for black people. Thus, in the 1909 Constitution, only black people in the Cape retained their right to vote. The prevalent racial intolerance in South Africa kept this issue very high on the agenda, and in the 1930s the South African Parliament finally had the two-thirds majority needed to remove voting rights for black people from the Constitution. Finally, in 1951, the Coloured Voters Roll was also scrapped. In resistance against the diminishing civil rights experienced by these groups in South Africa, liberation movements such as the ANC were formed. One of the civil rights they fought for, for many decades, was the right to vote; a right finally won and exercised for the first time in 1994. 

The value of voting

So why am I providing this VERY brief look at history and the right to vote?

The value of voting has lost its lustre in South Africa. Despite all this history of the disenfranchised winning the right to vote, and the great enthusiasm for and faith in this aspect of the democratic process, South Africans look at voting with far less excitement only 30 years after the first democratic elections. Of course, we come by our growing indifference honestly. Those the majority have given their vote to have let us down greatly. And when we look at the candidate lists for the governing party for our upcoming elections, it doesn’t seem that we can expect better.

But this is still a democracy, dear voter! There will be more parties than ever on the ballot in 2024. We have a Constitution protecting this right to vote for any party you choose. What a notion! Looking back at history, especially from the vantage point of this current Human Rights Month, this right to vote is still at the centre of a system where the people have the final say. You must exercise this right with vigour, with determination, and with defiance against anything or anyone who wishes to weaken our country even further.

I mentioned decision-making earlier. This is what voting is. Look around you and decide if you are content with your circumstances. Look at your wider community and communities in your province and how they make an existence, and decide if you are satisfied with what you see and hear. The vast majority of people in this country can’t possibly be content or satisfied with what they see or what they LIVE through every day. Dear voter, neither are you, right?

So, VOTE in these elections if you are eligible. VOTE. It is your RIGHT. 

News Archive

Disaster risk management centre of the UFS serves on UN specialist committee
2015-06-26

Dr Andries Jordaan
Photo: Supplied

The Director of the Disaster Management Training and Education Centre (DiMTEC) at the University of the Free State, Dr Andries Jordaan, has been invited to serve on a UN special committee by the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Dr Jordaan took part in the Expert Workshop on Climate Resilience in Geneva, Switzerland, on 22-23 June 2015.

In preparation for COP 21, which takes place later this year in Paris, the United Nations must draw up a situation report for a universal climate agreement between all the world’s nations. In order to advise the United Nations and the Secretary-General, and to prepare for the UN’s resilience initiative that will be launched during this important international gathering, a small  team of approximately 20 experts and scientists from all over the world have been chosen to review the concept of the project. This group of experts will help to revise the original concept for the project.

According to Dr Jordaan, the Sectretary-General of the UN will be launching a ‘resilience initiative’ that is aimed at promoting resilience in climate-related risks.

Jordaan says it is an honour for him to represent the UFS and DiMTEC on such a specialist committee. “For me, it is recognition of the contribution we make in Africa and the world to disaster risk and climate adaptation,” he says.

DiMTEC is proud to be at the forefront of disaster management training in Africa. The centre has close ties with institutions of the United Nations, such as UNU-EHS, UNU-Flores UNOOSA, UNSPIDER, UNEASCO, UNEP, UNCCD, UNISDR and UNDP, among others.

DiMTEC strives to inform the public about disaster risk reduction through education. The centre’s master’s and post-graduate degrees in disaster management, as well as short courses and research, are of the highest standard.

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