Two things struck me this week that might seem miles or kilometres apart but are actually closely connected. First of all, I really felt for the many, many Americans who could not face voting for a party which has supported genocide all these months. And I think here, the pundits and pollsters are seriously wrong.
It was not just Arab Americans who were disgusted but thousands of Jews too, such as those in the Jewish Voices for Peace and thousands of good-hearted Americans, probably mainly young.
Thousands and thousands could not continue to support a party like that, but at the same time, they were horrified by the alternative. Does anyone expect the alternative to do anything different?
Having listened to all this, I heard the most profound statement about elections. It is called “Vote Like a Radical.” Radicals don’t choose their representatives. They choose their opponents. Yes, they know that any elected candidate becomes their opponent as they are sure that that chosen candidate will not do much that they hope and fight for.
Therefore, it is important to choose the candidate or opponent who is best suited to fight against because they are open to criticism, listen, or even be weak or whatever. This is because the real power does not lie with the elections but with societal movements.
Choose your opponent
Thus, voting for those who tolerate or support movements is very important. You choose your opponent. You don’t choose the one who deserves most to be chosen but the one who allows space to organise for a better world and allows people the power to bring change.
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I found this argument particularly pertinent to the US election. How could you vote for a genocide-supporting party? But then, how could you vote for a party which openly supports the shutting down of democratic space? You choose the one whom you can best fight against.
To me, this gives a whole new meaning to the ritual of voting. It is not a one-off moment that can be shut down at any moment. It is the beginning of a process to continue organising and fighting for what you believe is right. I don’t think it worked this time in the US, but it makes sense. The act of voting is just a small part of the democratic process.
While I was still pondering on this as I listened to the American election results coming in, – yes, they are important to us too. Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, Tanzania’s first president, once said that we should all be allowed to vote in the US election as, whether we like it or not, it affects us all – I became involved in a debate on X, formerly Twitter.
A doctor had stood up to be counted, saying that those of us who, although we could not vote, still supported the great orange as if he was our football team were not thinking clearly. From her medical standpoint, this was crazy as the great orange had already said he would close down Pepfar, which would mean an end to free ARVs for the more than a million Tanzanians living with HIV/AIDS.
Duh! You would have thought she had committed murder. People attacked her, implying all sorts of mean motives to her. But if you leave aside the typical love of insults that characterises our social media, their point is key.
Donor dependency
For how long are we going to depend on outsiders for what is and should be our responsibility? Why isn’t our government not paying for these life-enhancing and life-saving drugs? And, of course, ARVs are just one example.
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From that, we got into a broader debate. It would seem that our luxury-loving leaders (LLLs) can continue to lavish our taxes and other income on their lavish lifestyles (LLs). Yes, the LLLs can continue with their LLs because basic and essential services are covered by hawa wafadhili na mafedhuli.
I remember one district I visited which had a wonderful child protection programme covering the whole district involving and supporting communities. It cost Sh120 million, but how much did our municipal councils pay? Between Sh4 and 5 million, while the donor paid between Sh114 and 115 million shillings. It is obvious that, without the donor, there would be no child protection programme!
So, the debate shifted from blaming a conscientious doctor concerned about the sustainable health of our people to blaming a system that allows the LLLs to get away with their LL and still get elected the next time round, claiming that all the social services were a result of their hard work. People railed about the importance of holding our leaders accountable. Blame, blame, blame, but when it came to action, nothing.
This is why I think the lessons of voting as a radical are really important. It is, of course, not in the interest of our LLLs to allow the people to build movements against their LL when basic essentials depend on outsiders.
Movement-building
Hence, it is important to recognise that our vote is just the beginning of the process or maybe not even an important part of the process, depending on to what extent the LLLs allow the ritual of voting to have any meaning. If there really is a choice, you choose your opponent, not your representative; choose the opponent you can fight best.
Then, you find ways to organise to combat her/him and ensure that it is time for the LLLs to give up their LL and concentrate on providing services to the people. That way, we will have the power recognised in the Constitution, for lamentations will never bring power.
And as Gen Z showed in Kenya, movements are not necessarily connected to political parties. Indeed, they should not be monopolised by political parties. Why can’t we start with small things like one specific item in the CAG report and organise against it?
I know many people are equally disillusioned here. They have not recovered from the trauma of 2020, and they don’t see anything has changed. So, as voting approaches and we hear the same tired manoeuvres to prevent other candidates, one begins to wonder whether the other side is revisiting the definition of madness, doing the same thing over and over again with the same result.
Do we even have a chance to choose who our prospective opponent should be?
Richard Mabala is an educator, poet, and author. He is available at rmabala@yahoo.com or on X as @MabalaMakengeza. These are the writer’s own opinions, and they do not necessarily represent the viewpoint of The Chanzo. Do you want to publish in this space? Contact our editors at editor@thechanzo.com for further inquiries.
