Seventy percent of South Africans are dissatisfied with how democracy is functioning in the country, and 72% claim that they would be prepared to relinquish elections if non-elected leaders could lessen crime and foster jobs and housing.
This according to the latest Afrobaro- meter survey.
While the 2011 survey found that 60% of South Africans were “satisfied with democracy”, the latest reading places satisfaction levels at just 31%.
This is a significant drop in the currency of a long sought-after democracy. It is a chilling vote of no confidence in elections, which are often lauded as a necessary and precious national expression of democracy. In the words of Dr Martin Luther King jr: “Voting is the foundation stone for political action. If people don’t
