Address by Mme Bomo Edna Molewa, Premier of the North West province, at the 10th anniversary celebrations of the Electoral Commission (IEC), North West Province, Mafikeng

Programme Director
Leaders and members of the Electoral Commission
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
All protocol observed

It seems almost like yesterday when, 13-years ago, millions of our people across the length and breadth of our land, flocked confidently to our various polling stations to make a mark that symbolically declared to the whole country and the world: "We are turning our backs on our ugly past and embarking on a new journey of hope, optimism and collective future."

Since then, each day that dawn moves us closer to the vision of a better life for all. Each day that dawn confirms that ours is a maturing democracy. Since its inception 10-years ago the Independent Electoral Commission has been a consistent and reliable partner as we proceed on a long and difficult journey towards the consolidation of our democracy.

I can state without any fear of contradiction that, as one of the key institutions established to support our democracy, the IEC has discharged its mandate with distinction and confidence. In the process, the IEC has taught many of us about the values of independence, fairness and political tolerance. Thanks to the IEC and our appreciation of the meaning of electoral contest, as political parties and voters we have learnt and accepted to be gracious in defeat and humble in victory.

As we mark the tenth anniversary of the IEC, we must make a solemn commitment that we will spare neither strength nor effort in our endeavour to consolidate and cement our electoral system of democracy. At the same time, we must be grateful for the commitment and tireless efforts by ordinary men and women who are working for the IEC for bringing and sustaining confidence amongst our people in the legitimacy of our democratic elections.

Elections are at the heart of democracy, particularly in a country such as ours where, for decades, the right to vote was portrayed and presented not even as a privilege but some kind of holy experience fit for the chosen few. In the process the meaning and purpose of elections was lost to many but a handful. That, in turn, compounded the challenge faced by the Electoral Commission when freedom dawned and our masses could exercise their natural right to decide upon their leaders.

Ours, indeed, was a birth both in and of blood and no metaphor is intended there. Ours was an experience where none but those thoroughly drunk with optimism predicted even a semblance of normality and no hyperbole is intended there. With this as a background of doubt, scepticism and pessimism, the success of the first and indeed subsequent, elections was a remarkable feat. It is one of those handfuls of events in history that truly deserve the appellation of "miracle". It is magic call it witchcraft if you will but indeed you cannot deny the fact that it boggles the mind and defies logic.

Even magic, however, requires a magician to perform it. Even miracles are ascribed to some power, natural or supernatural. Our elections, too, were and continue to be the work of a special breed of men and women; people called upon by destiny to hold, almost literally, the very future of a nation in their hands. Sometimes we tend to forget what powers the Constitution of this country invests our Electoral Commission with. Lest I inadvertently plant the ideas of a coup in the minds of otherwise good people, let me say more about that at another time and in another place.

For now let me speak from the perspective of government and say had it not been for what some have hailed as the very first and thus far only truly free and fair election Africa has ever experienced, this country would not have been blessed with a saintly government of the saintly Nelson Mandela to set a tone of national reconciliation and reconstruction.

Just as that first government set the country on the path to the relative prosperity we are experiencing today, so did that first election set the stage for two more elections of a standard on par with the best the world has to offer, and on at least one occasion even bettering the much-vaunted American election. Consequently, we are one of a select group of countries in the world where the freedom and the fairness of an election is taken for granted assumed to a point where the deployment of external election observers is considered a possible waste of money.

That is no accident of history. It is a testament to the resolute will, the unbridled energy and the genius of the men and women under the inspired leadership of Brigalia Bam who understand the literal meaning of the word patriotism. We have seen elections in our country bring the best of our people, with volunteerism letsema, vuk'uzenzele lived as a reality almost palpable and touchable.

We have observed extraordinary situations where voter education has been used not as a weapon of indoctrination and a party political tool but as an instrument for mass education in democracy. We have witnessed the myth of division burst like a fully inflated balloon as our people black and white and young and old have queued together in animate conversation as long lines snaked their way to voting booths. Our elections have, like our victory in the 1995 Rugby World Cup and other sporting events involving our national teams, tended to unite rather than balkanise our people. That, in no small measure, is due to the spirit that the IEC nurtures in its preparation of the country for the elections.

We are one of the most demanding and stubborn nations on earth. We are notoriously difficult to please. That, therefore, the IEC has won our grudging confidence attests to that body's integrity. That it can run an election without its impartiality questioned or its legitimacy challenged is a sign of its morality political and otherwise.

I began, Programme Director, by saying that during the birth pangs of the free and democratic South Africa only a few understood the true meaning of elections. Many having been deprived of their right to vote viewed them as an extraordinary experience. It took our Electoral Commission to implant in our minds and stamp in our hearts the idea that the purpose of elections is not for those standing to be elected but for people to exercise their inalienable right to elect their representatives.

That paradigm shift explains in no small measure both the accountability our leaders subscribe to and our people's exercising of their rights through protests and demands for service delivery. We do, of course, sadly have instances of the abuse of our democracy both by some of our elected representatives and some of our people. It is, however, a symbol of the strength of our democracy that these remain anomalies factory faults rather than the norm.

It is correct to say, then, that we owe our very democracy largely to the democratic tradition of our historical and courageous struggle, but that we owe its consolidation and reinforcement to the leadership of the IEC. I have deliberately thus far said little about the logistics of an election. That is because I cannot even begin to hope to make anyone here understand the sheer bureaucracy involved the statistics at play and the organisational capacity required.

Suffice it to say that no Masters of Business Administration (MBA) programme can prepare anybody for the level of project management entailed by this army-like co-ordination and discipline needed to ensure even as seemingly mundane a task as the delivery of ballot papers. It might, at this point, be proper to invoke and acknowledge the role of our security services in the elections we have held. While we have not had to be overly worried about threats, real or imagined to the elections, we have had the comfort of knowing that both our army and our police service supported by the intelligence organs of the country have always been on standby and on full alert for any eventuality. That partly explains the miracle we are trying to fathom.

In closing one must pay tribute to our people black and white and their love and hunger for freedom, peace and democracy. Our spirit as a nation of many languages, different colours, a multiplicity of religions and a variety of cultures has been nothing short of the extraordinary. Our commitment to the future of our country and that of our children and the children of our children has been our mainstay. Our unshaken belief in democracy has been our strength, and it has not been misplaced. As Winston Churchill has said of democracy:

Many forms of government have been tried and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those others that have been tried from time to time.

Our future, for better or for worse, lies in our continued space to express our will and that space is in the custodianship of our Electoral Commission. It is because it has discharged that responsibility with aplomb that the Commission is still here today, healthy 10-years old and we as the government of the North West province salute and applauds it as it begins its second decade.

I thank you all.

Issued by: Office of the Premier, North West Provincial Government
11 October 2007