This is Part Two of a two-part article on voting and “civic duty”. Part One can be found here.

There is no ready-made pathway that will easily empower citizens and other residents to better their lives in accordance with the Constitution and electoral promises. That is not to say we should abandon the electoral route. What is needed is to simultaneously devote attention to ways we ourselves can directly make that difference and meet needs that remain unaddressed.

How does one have or find a political role? This is a very important question to answer because we need to know whether exercising one's vote in an election is the only way of exercising one’s “civic duty” - to influence the course of events in this country, and any other country.

Throughout the world there have been examples of popular power, of people exercising their political choices in a range of ways in the streets, in actions in or outside key institutions or decision-making fora, and in other ways.

It can be seen today in the opposition to and support for the Israeli actions against the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, with mass activity all over the world aiming to influence the decisions of governments.

It could be seen earlier in the #Occupy movement, #Blacklivesmatter, #MeToo and various peace movements during the Vietnam war, the war in Iraq and other contentious wars. There are many other spontaneous and organised activities in mainly Western capitals.

In our own case in the 1980s, South Africa became “ungovernable” as a result of the resistance led by the ANC and its allies. In order to avoid a situation of permanent ungovernability, elementary organs of “people's power” were established in various parts of the country with varying levels of success.

The success of these popular power initiatives depended on their base, whether or not it was primarily the youth involved. When the older and more experienced people were arrested during the states of emergency, there tended to be more abuses than when there were cases of popular power structures set up by the community as a whole. (See the series of articles on the UDF and People’s Power published on Polity.org.za)

Popular power is not a significant feature in South Africa today but it has not disappeared. There are still street committees in some parts of the country. In some places, one finds street committees in areas which did not have street committees in the 1980s. In others, such structures have survived from the 1980s.

The need to supplement the police services, the provision of basic needs like food, water and a number of other necessities has led to a range of self-initiated activities by concerned organisations, notably Gift of the Givers, and smaller organised activities or organisations with less extensive scope involving residents, with varying degrees of formalisation.

They have tried to assist those who are hungry, or to repair roads, and undertaken many tasks that ought to be the responsibility of the state. But since the state is not doing these, people and organisations have stepped in and tried to assist. (It should be recognised that such space is also sometimes occupied by vigilante and xenophobic groups like Operation Dudula).

This is an example of exercising your civic duty in a context when many people believe and have experienced that voting for the political parties on hand generally will not result in these needs being met.

It may be that some or many of these people who are acting outside of state structures or support these activities will still vote.  That is their choice and their right. I am not advocating not voting as a principle. It is an option. It is important to consider a range of options instead of relying simply on the vote.

There are a range of influences that come into play between a voter expressing a choice and a decision by those with power that determine whether or not it will be exercised in accordance with what the particular voter has in mind. The outcome may sometimes be what the voter sought, but sometimes very different. This is partly because to make legislation and implement it entail a lot of processes that involve a range of aspects of government including levels of the public service with committees, administrative decisions and delegation of authority, and implementation or failure to carry out a duty to implement a task.

In broad terms these decisions or failures to act, or ineffectual action, have led to a situation where many of the conditions that characterised oppression under apartheid still persist - with people hungry, not having access to what they need for their bodily integrity in terms of nutrition and healthcare. Together with other factors, this denies them the opportunity to realise themselves, as was the case under apartheid and still continues in various aspects of contemporary life.

In terms of personal security, we know that whatever the Bill of Rights may say, the police continue to be trigger happy. In many cases, they have been found - including by the courts - to be in the pockets of gangsters, and a number of these other aberrations or wrongdoings are continuing.

How can one exercise ‘civic duty’ beyond the vote?

I do not think that the indifference to voting can be remedied by changing the electoral system. Similar problems are also found with constituency systems which also spawn many social movements and spontaneous expressions to remedy what the franchise does not achieve. I believe that this problem needs to be remedied by social and political action by the public - not in place of elections, but by augmenting the vote.

On the question of the law and crime, for example, there are a number of specialists outside of government who are professionally qualified, committed to eradicating crime and uncovering the causation behind certain forms of crime, the collusion between criminals and law enforcement officers, and other key issues.

That would be one situation where a number of specialists need to come together in order to formulate a case against what is happening and for an alternative that can prevent this happening and lead to the type of law and crime fighting that we need in a country which is at peace, not at war with itself.

The professionals must also join with communities and share their knowledge bases. The same goes for a range of issues of social welfare, like treatment of the elderly and children, absence of adequate nutrition that is necessary for children to grow into healthy adults, and the absence of adequate recreational facilities.

There are many professionals and community activists who are concerned with these questions, and it is important that community activists should join with the professionals, that the expertise of the field as a whole is linked with those who know the areas and problems where they live on a day-to-day basis.

This can be done in a number of spheres, which are identified and build a range of theatres of decisions and decision making which are not being implemented in Parliament or through government itself. It can become a force to be reckoned with as a knowledge base as well as a base on the ground for people who are willing to act.

In other words, we will have the legislature, we will have the executive, we will have the judiciary, but we also need popular engagement joined together with professional engagement. There is also a place here for business to be involved since for commercial and industrial success, social stability is needed.

Beyond despair and augmenting electoralism

My argument has been that the elections of 2024 occur in a time of crisis of electoralism. The crisis relates to many people believing that what they choose - even as a majority - to have government do, does not happen. Consequently, many do not register or turn up to vote.

In a crisis, voting is not the only way to implement social choices, and even not voting cannot be characterised as failing in a social duty. However, for those who wish to recover democratic life, it is necessary to find ways, some of which I have alluded to, to engage and bring together sectors that can make a difference and contribute towards a “turnaround”.

This article is the final part of a two part article inquiring into the value of notions of the vote as a civic duty in South Africa. Raymond Suttner is an Emeritus Professor at the University of South Africa and a Research Associate in the English Department at University of the Witwatersrand. He served lengthy periods as a political prisoner. His writings cover contemporary politics, history, and social questions. His twitter handle is @raymondsuttner.