As part of my service learning class, I was required to volunteer for the 2009 Presidential elections. My job was to be an international observer, making sure everything went smoothly at the polls. Our group arrived at the Christian Council at 5:30 in the morning for violence briefing and training. We then got into groups, and headed to Imbali Township to oversee the polling station. Along the way were TONS of people out in the middle of the road, celebrating and cheering for their parties. There was even a whole ANC Float that went by, with people dancing in the back of the truck! The polling station was at a preschool, pretty much out in the middle of nowhere. Everywhere you looked were police men with bullet proof jackets and machine guns guarding the entrances…. Not real comforting.
My job was to sit and take notes about anything that went wrong inside the polling station…. And I pretty much went through a whole notebook. It’s very unorganized, compared to the United States. For example, there is only suppose to be one person behind the booth at a time – but almost every time I looked over, there were groups of people hanging out and chatting. Not good.
I was also able to help people fill out the ballots. The first lady I helped was blind, and she told me which box to check. It was really cool to get to see the ballots. They’re a lot different than back home. There’s a coloured photo of the candidate, the party symbol, the party name, and a check box. It’s VERY simple.
Another funny thing about voting here is that before you vote, someone has to paint your thumb nail with ink so that you can't vote in more than one location. That was also one of my jobs for the day – and it turned out to be really fun. I actually got to chat with people instead of just sitting sadly in the corner with my little notebook.
After voting was done, the coordinators asked us if we wanted to stay around to count the ballots. We’d have to be locked in the room until about 4am, or until everything was counted. I decided against it – partly because I had a dawnie the next morning, and I also thought it was strange they asked me to do that. They didn’t do any background checks, and I really could have been anyone trying to mess up the elections. So I just ended up going back to varsity early.
On our way back, our driver from KZNCC took us to the site where Nelson Mandela gave his last speech before being sent to Robbin Island. It was SO cool to see that in person! It was a fun day overall, and it was cool to be part of South Africa's fourth democratic elections since the apartheid. It's a whole lot different than how things go in the US, that's for sure!
My job was to sit and take notes about anything that went wrong inside the polling station…. And I pretty much went through a whole notebook. It’s very unorganized, compared to the United States. For example, there is only suppose to be one person behind the booth at a time – but almost every time I looked over, there were groups of people hanging out and chatting. Not good.
I was also able to help people fill out the ballots. The first lady I helped was blind, and she told me which box to check. It was really cool to get to see the ballots. They’re a lot different than back home. There’s a coloured photo of the candidate, the party symbol, the party name, and a check box. It’s VERY simple.Another funny thing about voting here is that before you vote, someone has to paint your thumb nail with ink so that you can't vote in more than one location. That was also one of my jobs for the day – and it turned out to be really fun. I actually got to chat with people instead of just sitting sadly in the corner with my little notebook.
After voting was done, the coordinators asked us if we wanted to stay around to count the ballots. We’d have to be locked in the room until about 4am, or until everything was counted. I decided against it – partly because I had a dawnie the next morning, and I also thought it was strange they asked me to do that. They didn’t do any background checks, and I really could have been anyone trying to mess up the elections. So I just ended up going back to varsity early.
On our way back, our driver from KZNCC took us to the site where Nelson Mandela gave his last speech before being sent to Robbin Island. It was SO cool to see that in person! It was a fun day overall, and it was cool to be part of South Africa's fourth democratic elections since the apartheid. It's a whole lot different than how things go in the US, that's for sure!
This is an awesome story. I always hear about International Observers in political elections, but I was never sure who they were or how they got there. Now I know it is MSU students who are studying abroad. It makes me happy to know that you had to observe international elections when I have seen you build a snowman and throw a frozen wine ball at him. South Afrika should be proud to have you there!!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat are they doing with you little note book? Will it be sent to some International Organization like the UN or will it just be thrown out and forgotten?
I miss you!
I just remembered, that I heard about those elections on the Radio, and I was wondering if you were going to be a part of them. AWESOME!
ReplyDeleteGet my mail yet?