There are many lessons to be learnt from the 2024 general election
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With the 2024 general election now behind us, it is time to reflect on what transpired before, during, and immediately after the election. This reflection is important so that we can both individually and collectively use this experience as we prepare for the 2026 Local Government Election (LGE) and the 2029 general election.
The first group that needs to draw lessons from this election are politicians. It is true that some did well in this election while others performed dismally. Both groups have a lot to learn.
Those who did well have a somewhat easier task before them. All they need to do is build on their success and ensure that they do not become complacent. To achieve this goal, they must do an analysis of their manifestos, campaigns, and the people they deployed. Importantly, they must look at their messaging to establish if it would be wise to do things the same way or improve in certain aspects.
For those political parties that did not do well, they have their work cut out for them. Firstly, they must do self-reflection to establish if they read the political mood and context of the country correctly. Secondly, they must assess their manifestos. Thirdly, they must check if they deployed the right people to lead their campaigns and if they did this on time or not. Fourthly, they must assess their messaging to see if it was crafted properly. Fifthly and lastly, they must check if they studied the electorate and their concerns properly.
The three top parties under the sixth administration (ANC, DA, and EFF) must study the results closely. Importantly, they must establish why they all suffered in the hands of the newly-formed Mkhonto Wesizwe Party (MKP). Among the questions they must ask themselves are the following: Did they listen to political analysts? Did they take election polls seriously? Did they campaign for themselves or did they use their campaigns to unwittingly campaign for other political parties such as the MKP? Did they understand pertinent societal issues? Were they not complacent?
Independent candidates who contested this election for the first time must also do their own reflection. Generally, they did not do well. The onus is on them to individually and collectively establish where they went wrong and plan for the next election. Among other things, they must check their timing, resource mobilization, campaign strategies, societal issues on which the campaigns were based, and their understanding of the electorate.
Voters also have lessons to draw from this election. Those who normally vote for the bigger parties misread the political mood in the country. They worked on the wrong assumption that because their parties have been doing well in previous elections, they will automatically do well in this election too. They ignored the anger and frustration that people have due to issues such as loadshedding, high unemployment, increased crime statistics, a weak economy, and increasing social inequality in general – not to mention concerns about increased corruption and unfulfilled promises about “The New Dawn” and other promises which have not yet come to fruition.
Lastly, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) also has a lot to learn from this election. Firstly, the usage of three ballots for the first time called for the education of the electorate. Secondly, the increased number of voters meant that improvements had to be made on logistics. This means that the police escorts must be engaged on time to establish their capacity to accompany an increased number of trucks carrying IEC material. Thirdly, all presiding officers must be made aware that the failure of the Voting Device Management systems (VDMs) does
mean that the voting process must be halted. Fourthly, the IEC must ensure that its technological systems are strong to avoid people raising concerns about the results. Lastly, the IEC must address all Section 55 objections before announcing the results to avoid being accused of being partisan and bias.
There was a lot at stake in this election. The results were historic. For the first time since 1994, the ANC was reduced to 40 percent. The next elections must be approached with a different mindset.