Christina Cauterucci on Election Season in South Africa
April 23, 2009
Yesterday, classes were canceled. Businesses shut down. Depending on the area of town, the streets were alternately packed with people and cars or ghost-town empty.
Yesterday, on Election Day, a record 77 percent of the South African population cast their votes for the next ruling party of the country.
This election season was possibly the most contentious one since the first democratic elections were held four voting cycles ago, in 1994. The African National Congress (ANC), which is revered by many in this country for its role in organizing the fight against apartheid and the struggle toward majority rule, has garnered a landslide victory in each election since the establishment of democracy. Last year, however, amid charges ranging from racketeering and corruption to rape brought against ANC president Jacob Zuma, a fraction of the ANC broke off to form the Congress of the People (COPE), which some say is just a haven for supporters of Thabo Mbeki, the ousted and controversial former ANC leader and president of South Africa. Current poll results (which won't likely be finalized for a few more days) are somewhat indecisive, but the public has been speculating that COPE will draw a fair number of voters away from the ANC, and that the ANC's main opposition, the Democratic Alliance, will also benefit from public dislike of Zuma.
So, how does religion play a role in this complicated and exciting political climate? Zuma has said that Christianity is the foundation for all of his political beliefs. Last year, he was ordained a pastor by a collective group of Christian churches, and this gathering of Christian leaders and priests declared their unending allegiance to Zuma. They also praised Zuma, who received no formal education past the fifth grade, for his ability to fully understand the struggles of the South African people against poverty, while deriding Mbeki as a rich politician. This gave Zuma the chance to argue that God was on the side of the ANC, which is no paltry claim in a country that is fully three-quarters Christian. Zuma uses religious rhetoric in many of his speeches, often insinuating that his party does God's work because the ANC has been blessed by many pastors. He is infamous for claiming that the ANC will rule South Africa until Jesus comes back.
Zuma's Christianity is very distinct from the Western version of Christianity that we see in America. Most observably, Zuma is a proud polygamist who has married four times, paid lobola (a bride price) for at least three more fiancées, and has had eighteen children with his wives and girlfriends. One similarity between the Christian doctrine followed by Zuma and that most commonly followed in the United States is their respective stances on gay marriage. Like the majority of American Christian leaders and politicians, including President Obama, Zuma opposes gay marriage. He has proclaimed that same-sex marriage is a disgrace to the nation and to God, and he has implied that he used to beat up gay peers when he was younger. Nonetheless, gay marriage is legal in this country, and gay rights are protected by the South African Bill of Rights; in fact, South Africa was the first nation in the world to hold such provisions in its constitution.
This marks a major contradiction facing the president of South Africa's ruling party, which helped to draft that same constitution fifteen years ago. How can he reconcile his personal religious beliefs with the progressive Bill of Rights which he will be charged with protecting if elected president of South Africa, which seems likely? If the ANC succeeds in securing a two-thirds parliamentary majority, many people think that Zuma might strive to change the constitution in order to give the government more power at a local level. What would stop him from going further to modify the sections that protect gay rights, since his approach to politics is so deeply imbued with his religious beliefs? There is a strong LGBTQ presence in Cape Town that is becoming increasingly well organized and has spoken out against Zuma's remarks, so it seems that these collectives and NGOs will be watching to ensure that their constitutional protections remain intact.
Though Zuma regularly professes his Christianity, the ANC recognizes the diversity of spiritual and religious teachings followed by its members, and its official party statement on religion praises the philosophy of ubuntu. Ubuntu is a Southern African concept that encourages openness and empathy, and it teaches the universal connections of humanity. Ubuntu is an inclusive, peaceful philosophy that could benefit politicians from every party, no matter what the election results turn out to be.
This election season was possibly the most contentious one since the first democratic elections were held four voting cycles ago, in 1994. The African National Congress (ANC), which is revered by many in this country for its role in organizing the fight against apartheid and the struggle toward majority rule, has garnered a landslide victory in each election since the establishment of democracy. Last year, however, amid charges ranging from racketeering and corruption to rape brought against ANC president Jacob Zuma, a fraction of the ANC broke off to form the Congress of the People (COPE), which some say is just a haven for supporters of Thabo Mbeki, the ousted and controversial former ANC leader and president of South Africa. Current poll results (which won't likely be finalized for a few more days) are somewhat indecisive, but the public has been speculating that COPE will draw a fair number of voters away from the ANC, and that the ANC's main opposition, the Democratic Alliance, will also benefit from public dislike of Zuma.
So, how does religion play a role in this complicated and exciting political climate? Zuma has said that Christianity is the foundation for all of his political beliefs. Last year, he was ordained a pastor by a collective group of Christian churches, and this gathering of Christian leaders and priests declared their unending allegiance to Zuma. They also praised Zuma, who received no formal education past the fifth grade, for his ability to fully understand the struggles of the South African people against poverty, while deriding Mbeki as a rich politician. This gave Zuma the chance to argue that God was on the side of the ANC, which is no paltry claim in a country that is fully three-quarters Christian. Zuma uses religious rhetoric in many of his speeches, often insinuating that his party does God's work because the ANC has been blessed by many pastors. He is infamous for claiming that the ANC will rule South Africa until Jesus comes back.
Zuma's Christianity is very distinct from the Western version of Christianity that we see in America. Most observably, Zuma is a proud polygamist who has married four times, paid lobola (a bride price) for at least three more fiancées, and has had eighteen children with his wives and girlfriends. One similarity between the Christian doctrine followed by Zuma and that most commonly followed in the United States is their respective stances on gay marriage. Like the majority of American Christian leaders and politicians, including President Obama, Zuma opposes gay marriage. He has proclaimed that same-sex marriage is a disgrace to the nation and to God, and he has implied that he used to beat up gay peers when he was younger. Nonetheless, gay marriage is legal in this country, and gay rights are protected by the South African Bill of Rights; in fact, South Africa was the first nation in the world to hold such provisions in its constitution.
This marks a major contradiction facing the president of South Africa's ruling party, which helped to draft that same constitution fifteen years ago. How can he reconcile his personal religious beliefs with the progressive Bill of Rights which he will be charged with protecting if elected president of South Africa, which seems likely? If the ANC succeeds in securing a two-thirds parliamentary majority, many people think that Zuma might strive to change the constitution in order to give the government more power at a local level. What would stop him from going further to modify the sections that protect gay rights, since his approach to politics is so deeply imbued with his religious beliefs? There is a strong LGBTQ presence in Cape Town that is becoming increasingly well organized and has spoken out against Zuma's remarks, so it seems that these collectives and NGOs will be watching to ensure that their constitutional protections remain intact.
Though Zuma regularly professes his Christianity, the ANC recognizes the diversity of spiritual and religious teachings followed by its members, and its official party statement on religion praises the philosophy of ubuntu. Ubuntu is a Southern African concept that encourages openness and empathy, and it teaches the universal connections of humanity. Ubuntu is an inclusive, peaceful philosophy that could benefit politicians from every party, no matter what the election results turn out to be.
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