A flag in the sky

I have a day off today as it is election day. I drink a cup of coffee. The table wobbles. The waiter looks for a solution. You don't have card board coasters here as in Belgium.

On the fence across the street a banner of the Independent Election Commission. It indicates there is a polling station on the premises. I passed several of them during my walk here. At all of them, people were lining up. Outside I see some party posters, mostly from the Democratic Alliance (DA) ‘save South Africa’ and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) ‘land and jobs now! - stop loadshedding!’ It is unclear what the election result will be. In recent years, the share of the ANC -the majority party since the first democratic elections in 1994- systematically declined. Will that trend continue, and if so, how low will the ANC share fall? Is the new party, MK, with former president Zuma a serious threat? No idea.

Among people I talk to about these elections, I feel some resignation (as in Belgium?): not knowing who best to vote for then, is it even worthwhile to do so, because no, things are not going well in South Africa. There has been no loadshedding in the run-up to the election. Fossil fuel is being used to make electricity to keep the lights on. But that won't last. I already bought a rechargeable lamp.

But it is also clear that voting itself is not questioned. The majority of the population has had to wait far too long for that. That right has only been established 30 years ago. In that sense, this day is still a celebration of democracy, of victory over an oppressive system. This is illustrated by a helicopter flying a giant flag of South Africa through the blue sky over Durban.