SummaryOpen the quick read
- Established political parties and mainstream media platforms are increasingly sidelining smaller parties from major political debates.
- Recent mayoral debates in Nelson Mandela Bay excluded several contesting organisations, depriving voters of diverse policy perspectives.
- Claims by large parties that voting for smaller rivals is a 'wasted vote' contradict the historical growth of South African opposition politics.
- The 2024 national election and subsequent coalition government highlight the critical role that emerging parties play in modern governance.
- Broadcasters and editors are urged to apply fair, transparent criteria so all legitimate political contenders can be scrutinised by the electorate.
There appears to be a deliberate effort to silence smaller political parties in SA, driven both by the conduct of sections of the media and by the rhetoric of established political organisations.
Smaller parties are too often treated as though their existence is an irritation rather than a legitimate expression of our multiparty democracy.
Those accustomed to dominating political spaces appear uncomfortable when new organisations challenge the status quo, introduce different ideas and demand a seat at the table.
Yet our constitution is clear. Every citizen is free to make political choices.
This includes the right to form a political party, participate in its activities, recruit members and campaign for a political party or cause.
Citizens also have the right to free, fair and regular elections, to vote in secret and to stand for public office.
If those rights mean anything, then our democratic culture should create reasonable opportunities for competing political voices to be heard.
This is why recent political debates concerning Nelson Mandela Bay should concern us.
Municipal Watch, a discussion feature on SAfm hosted by Cathy Mohlahlana, held a Nelson Mandela Bay mayoral discussion to which the ANC, DA, PA, EFF, ACDP and National Alliance were invited.
The ANC, EFF and National Alliance did not participate.
GOOD PR councillor Lawrence Troon eventually called into the programme and challenged statements made by DA mayoral candidate Retief Odendaal.
The question is simple: if invited parties do not arrive, why should other registered political parties contesting the election not be given an opportunity to participate?
On Sunday, September 27, eNCA's We The Nation Nelson Mandela Bay Mayoral Debate was broadcast from the NMU South Campus Auditorium in Gqeberha.
The invited political representatives were from the ANC, DA, National Alliance and ACDP.
Other opposition parties were not afforded the same platform.
They were not even included in the audience to question those presenting themselves as alternatives to govern Nelson Mandela Bay.
The Political Arena election series, involving the Sunday Times, Business Day and Sowetan in partnership with NMU, a discussion about the Bay's future on October 8, centred on selected parties, including the ANC, EFF, DA, UDM and PA.
Where are the other voices?
GOOD, for example, has been vocal about resolving the municipal manager issue, appointing permanent heads of municipal directorates and strengthening the fight against corruption and maladministration.
Whether voters agree with GOOD is irrelevant to the principle.
Voters deserve an opportunity to hear competing ideas and decide for themselves.
This problem extends beyond media debates.
The DA regularly advances the argument that voters should not "waste" their votes on smaller parties.
But this argument is deeply ironic when one considers the history of opposition politics in SA.
Political organisations do not begin as giants.
The DA itself traces important parts of its political ancestry to the Progressive Party, established in 1959, which at one stage was represented by a single MP, Helen Suzman.
Imagine if South Africans had decided that supporting a small opposition party was automatically a wasted vote.
Democracy requires political competition.
SA's current national political landscape proves the importance of parties outside the traditional giants.
The ANC lost its outright parliamentary majority in 2024, while newer and smaller political formations gained representation and influence.
The government of national unity itself demonstrates that our politics has entered an era in which cooperation between multiple parties can determine the direction of government.
Today's small party may become tomorrow's significant political force.
That is precisely why the media carries an enormous democratic responsibility.
Editors and broadcasters naturally have to make choices.
No debate can necessarily accommodate every registered political organisation.
But those choices should be transparent, defensible and fair.
Selection criteria based only on existing size or previous electoral performance risk creating a vicious cycle: established parties receive exposure because they are established, while smaller parties struggle to grow because they are denied exposure.
The media must report politics, not decide it.
Similarly, established political parties should persuade voters through ideas, records of governance and credible leadership rather than frightening citizens into believing that supporting an alternative is somehow irresponsible.
There is no such thing as a wasted democratic vote when a citizen consciously votes according to their convictions.
The ballot belongs to the voter.
New and smaller political parties must therefore be treated fairly and given reasonable opportunities to participate in the democratic conversation.
They must be questioned, challenged and scrutinised like everyone else. But they must first be allowed into the room.
The power to shape the future of Nelson Mandela Bay does not belong to television stations, newspaper editors, political commentators or established political parties.
It belongs to the people.
Residents must refuse to allow anyone to dictate which political organisation is "big enough" to deserve their vote.
Instead, judge every candidate and every party on capability, integrity, policies, leadership and their commitment to getting the basics right.
The people who struggle daily and have too often been left without hope, must not surrender their democratic power.
Fellow residents of Nelson Mandela Bay, stay the course. Listen to different voices. Ask difficult questions.
Reject political fearmongering.
Demand ethical and capable leadership.
And when election day comes, use your X wisely.
Because democracy does not belong only to the biggest parties.
It belongs to all of us.
- Asanda Kobese is the communications lead of GOOD in NMB and writes in his personal capacity.