Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Previous Archive
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

Winning culture helps Kovsies Tennis team claim ninth gold
2015-12-09


Ruben Kruger of the University of the Free State in action at the 2015 USSA tournament in Cape Town.
Photo: Janine de Kock

A winning culture in the Kovsies Tennis Team, combined with good planning, contributed to the University of the Free State (UFS) USSA success recipe.

This is what Janine Erasmus, one of the team's captains, had to say.

According to her, this is why the UFS were able to handle the pressure of being the favourite so well, and this is what helped her team to achieve a ninth consecutive gold medal in Cape Town on 4 December 2015.

This was the sixth year in a row that the UFS triumphed in the combined USSA format since its inception in 2010. In 2007 and 2008, its Women's team won gold, and in 2009, it was the Men's team.

Erasmus was full of praise for the Kovsie coach, Marnus Kleinhans, and Janine de Kock, manager of KovsieTennis.

“We had a build-up of a few months to the USSA tournament, and they (Kleinhans and De Kock) already knew exactly what to do,” she said.

Erasmus, who won a third gold medal, believes her team had great depth this year.

Four in select squad

Kovsies and Maties played in the USSA Tennis Finals for a fourth consecutive year.

Erasmus and her team beat the Stellenbosch team 7 - 3 on 4 December 2015, after they defeated Tukkies 8 - 0 in their semi-final.

 

Mareli Bojé is one of four tennis players of the University of the Free State included in a 2015 USSA tournament team.
Photo: Janine de Kock

Arné Nel, Cornelius Rall, Duke Munro, and Mareli Bojé are the four Kovsies included in the USSA tournament team.

Nel, the other captain from the UFS, won all his matches for the third successive year. Munro won a gold medal at USSA for the seventh year in a row.

Gold for Table Tennis


Three UFS sports teams made it to the USSA finals, all against Maties. The tennis and men's table tennis teams were both winners, but the Sevens rugby team got stuck.

The Kovsie table tennis team beat Maties 3 - 1 in Kimberley.

Silver for Sevens rugby

The Kovsie Sevens rugby team, third at USSA for the past two years, walked away with silver in George on 1 December 2015.

The team was defeated by Maties 10 - 31 in the final. This was after they won 24 - 14 against Pukke in the semi-final, and 28 - 12 against the Central University of Technology in the quarter final.

Tukkies, the 2014 USSA Sevens champions, together with several other teams, did not take part  because the tournament was postponed because of the nationwide student protests.

The Kovsie swimming team took part in the USSA tournament in Johannesburg from 28 November to 30 November 2015.


We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept