YEARS ago as an official in the provincial government, I heard a senior DA-appointed official state that while the DA may argue for democracy, this does not imply that the DA practises democracy.
At that time, I did not know what those words meant until now. The recent advert where the DA urges voters not to vote for small parties is the tip of the iceberg, and explains much. The DA, while it speaks much of multiparty democracy and the constitution, pays lip service to both, just like the ANC. Sadly, when the constitution or democracy do not fit in with the ANC or DA, they side-step both.
If the DA is so secure about an election victory in the City of Cape Town, why is it spending millions on urging voters not to practise their constitutional right to vote for the party of their choice?
For example, over the past two months, the Cape Muslim Congress (CMC) has spent a great deal of hard-earned money on hanging up more than 1 000 posters. Most CMC posters, which were purposely hung above the ANC and DA posters, have been removed. Most posters in and around the mosques in Bo-Kaap, Kenwyn, Mitchells Plain, etc are gone.
Logic suggests that either the DA or ANC teams are removing the CMC posters as the other small parties do not have substantial poster presence, and the EFF does not operate in the suburbs where the CMC posters are hung.
Voters must know that a multiparty democracy cannot exist with only two parties, and the small parties are important to keep the ANC and DA arrogance under control. Small parties have small budgets and big parties have big budgets.
Nobody knows where the DA and ANC campaign money is coming from. Be afraid of what can happen next.
Cllr Yagyah Adams
Cape Muslim Congress