Quote of the week
Universal adult suffrage on a common voters roll is one of the foundational values of our entire constitutional order. The achievement of the franchise has historically been important both for the acquisition of the rights of full and effective citizenship by all South Africans regardless of race, and for the accomplishment of an all-embracing nationhood. The universality of the franchise is important not only for nationhood and democracy. The vote of each and every citizen is a badge of dignity and of personhood. Quite literally, it says that everybody counts. In a country of great disparities of wealth and power it declares that whoever we are, whether rich or poor, exalted or disgraced, we all belong to the same democratic South African nation; that our destinies are intertwined in a single interactive polity.
August and Another v Electoral Commission and Others (CCT8/99) [1999] ZACC 3
Democracy can be such a bother
In a democracy the pesky members of the media report on the improprieties of politicians (both the proven and rumoured variety) without having to fear imprisonment, assassination or closure of their newspaper.
If one is a politician – the President of the country or the head of the Police, say – living in a democracy can be quite a bother. Stuff reported in the media becomes part of the political reality and must be addressed, otherwise voters will inevitably assume that the media reports are correct.
President Thabo Mbeki does not seem to get this last point.
He is reported to have told religious leaders yesterday that they should trust him to do the right thing on Jackie Selebi and added that he did not want Selebi to be tried by the media.
If he has information clearing Mr Selebi’s name he should let us know what it is. He can call a press conference this afternoon and allow journalists to drill him, like they do in the UK and the USA.
By asking us to trust him because he knows best, President Mbeki is acting in a patronising and profoundly disrespectful way.
There is, of course, a vast difference between being convicted of a crime in a court of law, and merely acting in an unwise and suspicious manner. It is therefore disingenuous to say that Selebi is being tried by the media merely because the media is reporting on the fact that he is friends with an alleged mafia boss arrested for murder.
What the media is doing is fulfilling its appointed role in a democracy, namely to inform the public about important matters of national concern.
The Police Commissioner and the President are accountable to us – the people – and they therefore have a duty to respond openly and transparently to this new reality created by news reports. If they don’t, we have a right to assume that they have something to hide.
Yes, it’s a nuisance. Yes, it may tarnish Mr Selebi’s name. Yes, reporting can be sensationalistic. But that is the price to pay for a free press and a vibrant democracy.
Because we live in a democracy we do not have to trust our politicians. We have a right to demand answers and if those answers don’t come, we have a right to fire those in charge.
