THE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN GENERAL ELECTIONS

INTRODUCTION

This assignment will discuss the use of social media in the South African general elections. It also includes a brief history of electioneering and campaigning in the country’s twenty year democracy. And the social media’s effectiveness in campaigns and the impact social media will have on future elections.  

A BRIEF HISTORY OF ELECTIONEERING AND CAMPAIGNING IN SOUTH AFRICA

The first ever general elections in South Africa, in April 1994, marked a critical moment of freedom for the majority of the country’s citizens who were refused the right to vote by the apartheid government.  These elections saw more than just a simple transfer of power but also a moment of liberation and the final victory over racial oppression. The country has seen another four general elections taking place since then and in each the ANC (African National Congress) have been victorious. Campaign strategies used in all the elections seen by the country have evolved with the times simultaneously. 

 

It is very evident that with the social media that is readily available to us today in 2014 was not available back in 1994. The most effective way that politicians could connect to the general public at any and all levels was to physically be present and interact with the electorate. The use of People’s Forums succeeded in giving the ANC a presence on the ground, making leaders accessible and generating the necessary momentum for the impending poll. With the combination of roadshows in the ensuing months accompanied by the customary handshake, head-patting and smile, and by dancing drum majorettes, music and entertainment, plus a speech by Nelson Mandela, which became a common spectacle across the country, further enhanced the party’s campaign. Another technique employed by the ANC was that of a ‘postage paid coupon’ permitting non-attendees to write to Mandela directly, stipulating their biggest concerns and suggesting solutions to overcome mentioned concerns (Twala, 2014: 564). Other campaign techniques that are still used today are election posters and negative campaigns. Noted by Ferree (Twala, 2014: 564) to be the most memorable of the negative campaigns in the 1999 electioneering period is when the ANC clearly attacked the Democratic Party’s (DP’s) ‘Fight Back’ slogan by printing look-a-like posters reading ‘Don’t Fight Blacks’.  With the social media having become a big part of our lives, it is not surprising that electioneering and campaigning has moved online as well.

 

THE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN ELECTIONEERING

 

Social media (Facebook, Twitter, Mxit, etc.) are interactive web-based media platforms that offer ordinary citizens the opportunity to connect, share opinions, experiences, views, contacts, knowledge, and expertise (Adibe, et al. 2012: 6). Social media due to their cost-effective nature has no doubt become a veritable instrument for carrying out election campaigns and other electioneering activities. Abubukar (Adibe, et al. 2012: 12) observes that social media has created online platforms that serve as a new “political capital” where people resort to and participate in a political discourse. Before the advent of the new media, political campaigns and other electioneering activities blossomed in the traditional media. But the arrival of new media and lately social interactive media has greatly affected the way the game of politics is played. Their ability to attract the majority of populations in any country in the world, in this case that of South Africa, is one of the many reasons why politicians have turned to them  to attract voters. This has constituted in the increased use of social media by South African politicians in the run-up to the recent 2014 general elections.

 

Some parties, Agang SA, in particular used the social networking site, Twitter, to raise issues that have been swept under the rug by the ANC and at most largely avoided with their hashtag  #VoteAgangSA in March of this year (http://www.sabreakingnews.co.za/2014/03/31/agang-sa-says-it-it-like-it-is-on-twitter). Their tweet campaign got tongues wagging and was even thought to be negative campaigning on their part against President Zuma and effectively the ANC. Another politician, Julius Malema, of the EFF (Economic Freedom Fighters) led the online popularity contest according to eNCA news (http://www.enca.com/elections-2014/malema-ahead-online) with 447,000 followers with Hellen Zille and President Zuma coming in second and third respectively with 411,000 and 319,000 followers each.

 

 

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN CAMPAIGNS

 

Social media has a tremendous effect on the campaigns as there are no definitive regulations as to what someone writes about another opposing party. Perhaps, the most worrisome of it all is the problem of weak or absence of regulation of the technology as Kidafa, Odoemelam and Elechi (Adibe, et al. 2012: 8) observe that “regulating traditional media in the face of issues like obscenity, copyright, right to privacy, etc, was upheaval, but have became more difficult with the emergence of social media”. But with low penetration and access especially in the rural areas of the country and areas that does not have access to electricity, the issue of not having access to information still lingers. For many who still live below the poverty line it is , in their eyes, at the moment very much impossible to reap the abundant benefits of the information revolution that is happening as we speak (Adibe, et al. 2012: 4). High concentrations of social media use are still mainly found among urban residents. The increasing use of social media and other online tools has indeed led to greater privacy challenges. This is to say that with the great potentials of the internet and other digital social media, is included the challenges of monitoring and regulation.

 

With the negative campaigning practices adopted by the political parties mentioned above, it is apparent to see how easy it is to tarnish the image of the opposition in an instant. It affects campaigns in such a way that damage control on the part of the party tarnished has to ensue, which then takes away from the electioneering and campaigning that is more important. The perceptions of the voter will be changed as well causing a decreased confidence in the manifesto of said party and its competence.

 

CONCLUSION

Electioneering and campaigning has evolved over time from the traditional People’s Forms used by politicians in 1994 to more modern technologies such as the social media in combination with traditional methods such as mass rallies an election posters. Though the rules have not changed they have gained some speed as politics moves into the virtual realm.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Adibe, K.N. Odoemelam, C.C. & Chibuwe, A.  2012. Social Media, Electioneering and Sustenance Democracy in Africa: A “Swot” Analysis. Africa Media and Democracy Journal. 1 (1):

Twala, C. 2014. The Historical Significance of the African National Congress (ANC) Election Campaigns 1994-2014: A Genuine Process of Political Liberalisation? Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences. 5 (7): 562-568

Matroos, J. 2014. Agang Says it Like it is on Twitter. Available at: http://www.sabreakingnews.co.za/2014/03/31/agang-sa-says-it-it-like-it-is-on-twitter [Accessed 28 July 2014]

Malema Leading the Online Popularity Contest. Available at: http://www.enca.com/elections-2014/malema-ahead-online [Accessed 30 July 2014]