Some political parties will have to rethink either their strategy or their existence

Image courtesy Amazingly Pretty and Somewhat Literary

Once again, South Africans have gone to the polls and have made their decision as to which political party they prefer to run their respective municipalities in this country.

At the end of any election cycle, it isn’t always easy to analyse the data, since you do not actually know what the voters were thinking while they voted. As a result, you simply sit with raw data. So, in order to make sense of the raw data, you have to extrapolate from past election cycles into the present and then try to predict what the future holds.

At this point, I am sure many political parties must be thinking about the future. Some parties have had a downward slide for several years now.

Since 1994, we have had 4 general elections (GE) and 3 local government elections (LGE). LGEs are simply municipal elections.

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Christian Voting Must be Biblically Based

It is always interesting to talk to people to hear their criteria for choosing who to vote for in an election. With the 2009 elections coming up on 22 April, it is time again to hear the ideas of people. People have different reasons for why they vote for certain political parties.

Most people look at financial issues, hence, their political outlook is mostly for personal gain. How can the government make my life better? This of course shows a dependence on the government. This is also not just an issue for the poor! The rich have the same thoughts. They would like a government that will ensure that their riches don't get squandered on unnecessary taxes, or will at least see to it that the money of the rich will keep on growing.

As Christians, we march to the beat of a different drum… a heavenly drum! And that drum is not beaten by us, the Christians, but by the Lord of the universe, Jesus Christ Himself. It is very much a Lordship issue, even in deciding who we will vote for in a political election.

God is not uninterested in politics! This is not that one sphere of life where God leaves man to his own devices. This is not a no-go zone for God! "The earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein. (Ps 24:1)" To think that God can be excluded from any sphere of life, no matter how corrupt it has become, shows a naivety that does not belong with clear thinking people.

Politics, essentially has nothing to do with power. It primarily has to do with justice and care for a nation. It is exactly the quest for power by politicians that nations end up like Zimbabwe, DRC, Middle-East and China. Politics is about the good of the country, not about the individuals leading the country. As Lord Acton once said: "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." This is too much of a reality in our modern world not to take notice of it.

So, how does this choice of who to vote for affect Christians? When we look at who gets the vote in South Africa, it makes one wonder how many Christians actually march to the heavenly drum! Up until our last elections, it has been the ANC and DA as number one and two parties respectively.

Those results are quite perplexing, considering that about 70% of the population claims to be Christian. Why is this perplexing? Well, if one looks at the South African Voter's Guide, it becomes clear that these two parties stand antithetically opposed to Biblical Christian values.

In all of life, Christians are admonished by the Scriptures to obey God. Why is it that they think it would be acceptable to disobey when they vote in elections?

Christians simply do not not have the luxury of making up their "own minds" on issues that have been clearly spelt out in the Scriptures. That is on any issue in life. Yet, it is true that the Scriptures do not tell us who to vote for. However, that does not give us an escape route to vote for parties that do not stand on the Lord's side!

In making up our minds who to vote for, there should be a clear procession of thought on the issues. As Christians, our decision must be guided by clear Biblical mandate first. That means, where the Bible speaks clearly, we have to follow. If the Bible is clear on the issue of murder, we cannot vote for a party that supports abortion, ala ANC and DA. The Bible is clear on murder. You get the point! Therefore, Biblical moral issues must be adhered to first in our decision before any other issues that are based on conscience or expediency.

So, issues such as abortion, pornography, homosexuality, prostitution and the like must take precedence in your decision who to vote for. The Bible is clear on these issues. There are clear commands and Biblical doctrine on each of these issues and other moral issues. As a result, issues of conscience, on which the Bible has no clear teaching, must play second fiddle to moral issues. Even more so, issues of expediency such as simple economic issues.

If Christians do not use their votes towards establishing Biblically righteous government, they are indeed using their votes towards evil. And, perpetuating evil in this way is clear disobedience against the clear statutes of God. "Without virtue, a society can be ruled only by fear, a truth that tyrants understand all too well."¹ Already, the ANC is planning to amend the South African Constitution if they win a two-thirds majority.

Voting by a Christian must result in a better country with justice for all. A better country can only be seen as a righteous country. It does not have to be a country where all its citizens are Christians, but it will be a country where the people understand what is right and what is wrong, and where the law and its application brings true justice for all.

There are many Christians that vote for both the ANC and DA. They vote for the ANC as the so-called liberators from apartheid, and others vote for the DA as a so-called strong opposition to the ANC. With the upcoming elections, there will also be the breakaway party, COPE. When you look at the SA Voter's Guide, you will realise that COPE's policies are exactly the same as that of the ANC. In fact, of the 8 issues in the guide, the ANC and COPE get 0/8 and the DA get 2½. The ½ of the DA here is only because of stated policy, disregarding their poor voting record in parliament.

Remember, voting is a Christian duty. In a democracy, your vote can actually effect change. Your vote can move this country closer towards justice and righteous government. Don't throw that vote away by denying a party perhaps just that one vote it needs to have someone put into parliament. Further, don't waste your vote on the memories of so-called past liberation or on the promise of so-called strong opposition, especially when both of these sides stand for very much the same when it comes to moral issues.

Let your vote count towards righteous government, and vote for a Christian party such as the ACDP or CDA.

Christian, do not support and perpetuate immorality by giving your vote to parties that do the same! Do not vote through fear, but rather let your vote reinforce Christian Biblical values!

Notes

1. Colson, Charles and Pearcey, Nancy, How Now Shall We Live?, Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois, 1999, p373.

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News24 gives 8 political parties blog space

News24 has given 8 political parties their own blog space. Those parties are (with links to their websites):

African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP)

African National Congress (ANC)

Congress of the People (COPE)

Democratic Alliance (DA)

Freedom Front Plus (FF+)

Independent Democrats (ID)

Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP)

United Democratic Movement (UDM)

Each party can use its own blog space from News24 to promote itself.

Now, we are living in a new era and the party that does not make good use of the internet (websites, blogs, video site – i.e. Youtube, community sites – i.e. Facebook, etc), will probably not make it in modern elections. An example of good internet use is the Barack Obama campaign. The man has the political and foreign experience of a lama, but hey, people are fooled on the internet everyday.

Just having an internet presence, simply is not enough anymore. In today’s world, presentation is everything. No matter how good a party’s policies are, if their online “look and feel” is not good, they will not attract many people for a second and third visit. Statistics have shown that badly designed websites can’t hold the attention of visitors for longer than about 7 seconds. Of course, any political party wants to keep a person around for a while.

Of the parties above, the website I like the most is that of the DA. It looks open and spacious, and has a friendliness that I do not see in the other websites. The websites I like the least are the UDM (bad colours and it looks cramped), IFP (font too small and does not make use of available screen space) and finally the ACDP (old fashioned look and feel and also does not make use of space; the front page says very little).

Without a doubt, I believe that among these parties, the  ACDP has the best policies. Policies that are based on an eternal standard. However, a gift given in an old shaggy box does not create excitement like a gift in beautiful flashy gift wrap! It is the presentation that will get the people to visit the website, and then they will discover the policies.

Concerning the blog space given to these parties, it should be used wisely. Blog space should not be used as a dumping ground for media releases. That is the old style way of communicating. It is also the most boring thing you can do with a blog. Dump your media releases in newspapers, printed or online! Blogs are there to interact with the reader. Make the reader feel like you are talking to him. Anyone can distribute information. That is not an art. But to get people to want to read that information is a completely different issue.

Those that are put in charge of writing for these blogs should be writing about current issues as if those issues are experienced by the writer. The writer should show a passion for the issues written about. That passion should be transferred to the reader. And, that is exactly what media release dumping can never achieve.

So, keep an eye on these blogs and see what they say and how they say it.

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Can there be unity among South Africa’s Christian political parties?

First off, before I carry on with this post, I have to make it clear that we are talking about political parties, not the church.

It is impossible for a political party to claim any kind of mandate to stand in elections on behalf of the church. It is impossible and it simply will not work. Which denomination will that party represent?

Any given party can merely represent voters. In this case, a Christian party can only represent individual voters, whether they are Christian or not, and not the church as a whole.

I read that the CDA and the ACDP were in unity talks. Perhaps not in the sense of becoming one, since the CDA consists of several other parties standing together in the upcoming South African elections.

Well, it seems that somehow someone in the CDA let it slip that there were talks, and somehow let out a release on their blog that the ACDP is not interested in such unity and will go it alone in the upcoming elections on 22 April 2009. (?)

The question is, however, is the ACDP not interested in unity? A day after the release, on their blog the CDA placed the following correction:

“Please note

Due to a misunderstanding between me and the compilers, it was understood that the embargo on the media release on the talks between the ACDP and the CDA was intended for the media. The talks are still underway.”

In fact, after talks were held on 12 Feb 2009 (yesterday), consensus was not reached between the parties. I wonder what could lead to this point where consensus could not be reached?

In their media release, Louis Green, expressed the situation as follows:

“’Sadly the ACDP has rejected the proposals and opted to rather continue on their own,’ said Louis Green, chairman of the CDA National Leadership Council. "Our focus however remains on those who are committed to unity and not the individuals who cannot see a bigger vision than themselves.’

‘It is sad but unfortunately human nature sometimes, that we can find a hundred reasons for not doing the right thing at the right time,’ he said. ‘They could of been part of a watershed movement in our nation and history will recognise them as the party that stepped aside from opportunity and destiny.’”

I know that Louis Green left the ACDP some years ago. What I do not know is if they parted ways amicably. Did that influence the unity talks?

There are many Christians that still vote for the DA or the ANC, and perhaps now will vote for COPE. It would be interesting to know why so many Christians in this country vote for non-Christian parties. Of course, we can speculate about the reasons, but one thing we do not have to speculate about is the fact that they are not voting for Christian parties.

Is there anything that could persuade them to start voting for Christian parties? Sure, there must be! And, I think, one of the major things that can contribute to that is unity among the Christian political parties.

But, we all know how politics work. Leaders of political parties are usually “A” personality types, and such leaders do not easily give up their power bases. They like to be in control, so when the respective leaders are very strong types, what are the chances of unity?

The fact is that the CDA is already an amalgamation of different parties. How much did each of these men have to give up to stand as a unified group? How much would Kenneth Meshoe have to give up to stand in unity with the CDA?

What direction will Christian politics take if there is no unity. The answers can be quite diverse, but one of the things that will continue is that Christian parties will still sit with a couple percentage points of the vote. Surely, a unified stance between Christian political parties will send a message of purpose and direction. The voter will always wonder what makes the ACDP so different from the CDA, that they would have to choose between the two. Someone will have to explain the difference to me, so that I could understand why I should vote for the one and not the other.

Or, is this non-unified stance simply a case of one personality not willing to walk with another? It would be nice to know who the divisive one is. That will help to make up the minds of the voters, won’t it?

I think that Christian parties should have a new motto:

“Unity or Bust!”

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2009: Politics in the year ahead

New kid on the block

Politics is a weird business. It is always difficult to predict what is going to happen next, especially when elections are at hand. In South African politics, due to the format of our party system, it becomes fairly easy to push new, and sometimes evil, legislation through. We have seen this many times with the ANC at the helm.

However, in late 2008, a new player has joined the fray in the form of COPE (Congress Of the PEople). This certainly will bring in new dynamics onto the playing field. Will it deliver a significant difference to politics in South Africa? That is yet to be seen. One thing I can almost guarantee is that the ANC will no longer have their 69% majority in parliament. That means that they will no longer have the clear-cut ability to amend the constitution. Since the acceptance of the constitution there have been 14 amendments! Do we want one party so powerful that they could change the constitution in such a way that it could be completely detrimental to the health of the nation?

Will the other parties in South Africa simply remain "also rans" after the elections of 2009? COPE already claims to have over 400 000 signed up members. Will COPE become the new opposition party? Already, many from the ANC, even in high positions, have walked over to COPE. It also seems that some from the DA also joined COPE. Will the next elections bring about a battle between the ANC and COPE, while the crumbs are left for the other parties to fight over.

White politics

The DA simply doesn't seem to be able to make headway in South African politics. The fact that it is a white legacy party counts against them. They have tried hard to break that mould, but I do not think it will change, since most of the members of the DA seem to be white legacy voters. It is a traditionally white party and it is still seen that way. They have been the opposition party since 1994, but COPE is seriously challenging that position in the coming elections. I am not sure if the DA can ever change its image of a white legacy party. The solution for this certainly is not an easy one. Racism is still very much a part of South African life, and from my experience of DA voters, is that the DA is still seen as the embodiment of that racism, whether in reality the party is such or not! Of course, the ANC has proven themselves to follow racist policies by their actions in parliament and elsewhere.

Christian politics

Will the ACDP grow its voters base in 2009 at the poll? There have been lots of movement within the ACDP and it seems that its membership base is growing, but can they translate that into more votes? That remains to be seen. Unless they tap into the votes from the church at large, I am afraid they will not make a difference. The church is its voters base. That is where they must spend their time. If its goal is to simply get votes, then going from door to door is good. However, and this I should stress, as Christians we are not to simply get votes, we are to bring about changed hearts through the gospel. Getting votes is not part of our mandate.

I know I will be stepping onto the toes of many, but a vote does not accomplish the mandate of the church found in Mt 28.19-20. The church is not called to rule the world, but to serve it through the gospel of Jesus Christ. The kingdom we are called to is not the kingdom of man, but the kingdom of God. The government of that kingdom is on the shoulders of Jesus Christ. We cannot think that if the government of God's kingdom is upon the shoulders of Christ, that the government of this world is upon our shoulders. That is simply pure presumption!

Should we as Christians then not be involved in politics? That is not what I am saying. Christians should be involved in politics, but not for the sake of politics. Christians should be involved in any sphere of life for only one purpose, to bring glory to God, and that will be accomplished by the proclamation of the gospel as we were mandated in Mt 28.19-20. If we as Christians think we must win the vote to rule the country with God's laws then we are missing the point. Sure, we do need laws that are influenced by God's laws, but we do not need a Christian government to do that! Anybody can take God's laws and use them as the basis of their own governmental laws.

What we as Christians need is an environment that is conducive to the preaching of the gospel. If a Christian party has as its ideals to create such an environment, then we are heading somewhere. Christians should be involved in every facet of politics, but must not forget that hearts are not changed by politics, but by the gospel. As Christians we must preach the gospel and fight against injustice. In politics, Christians must not aim to rule the ungodly because we have some kind of misinformed idea that we have such a mandate of government on our shoulders. We are to be in politics to right wrongs and to fight for justice for all, not just for Christians.

Perhaps a major problem that many churches might have with Christian parties in South Africa such as the ACDP and the CDP, is of a doctrinal nature. What are you as a church to do when a party asks for your support, yet that Christian party consists mainly of a certain type of Christian that adheres to doctrines that you consider false? What if the leaders of that party adhere to such false doctrine? Should you support that party for political expediency's sake, or decide against it? How will that party's false doctrine mislead them in the running of the country? Whereas false doctrine or heresy is of an eternal nature, politics is concerned with this temporal realm. In my opinion one should stand for the truth of the gospel whenever heresy is involved. So, the individual church has to stand for truth while shunning heresy. We cannot give credit to false doctrine, even when politics is involved!

Democracy: FAIL

Democracy, which is seen by many as the almighty liberator of the oppressed masses, is simply the tyranny of the many over the few! Pure democracy cannot and will not bring relief to all people. Democracy says that the majority, by whatever slim margin, may rule the minority, even against their wishes.

Democracy also allows for people, no matter how ignorant, to decide over and above other people, no matter how informed! Democracy is very much a simple power game with the winner usually the one with the most money. With too little money, parties cannot get their work done. This puts them at an immediate disadvantage to those parties with the millions in money.

On poll day, people must vote. However, how many of those people can really make an informed choice? Many people make their crosses next to the only names they know. They have never been given an opportunity to be informed. How is this a plus point for democracy? How can such a vote have the same meaning as the vote by someone that has studied all issues and compared all parties and their policies?

What is the solution to the failure of democracy? I don't know, but I will let you know when I know. All I know is that while individuals cannot govern themselves, we will continue to need a nanny state to make decisions for us, and while that is the case, democracy cannot work. There would be too many people in need of someone to help make their decisions. Who would decide for them who should be in government? The current government?

Conclusion

At the start of 2009, I pray that you will be able to make properly informed choices, and that your choices will be based, not on the shifting sands of man's finite ideas that change almost everyday, but that you will be a Biblically informed person!

Have a great 2009!

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