Silly Season is Upon Us Again: The Enigma of the Election Manifesto and Its Launch

By: Sanusha Naidu

Introduction

Now that the date for the 2021 Local Government Election has been proclaimed for 1 November, the silly season for political party election campaigning has begun. With the big three Political Parties unveiling their election manifestos, the theatre of unabashed commitments and promises has begun. Though this year the fanfare has been tempered not least by COVID-19 lockdown measures but perhaps more so by a lethargy that has beset and inflicted the electorate.

Of course political parties were having none of this COVID-19 business and defied the regulations to just make sure that they are able to connect with their constituencies and make usual appearances in communities.

We could even be forgiven into believing that maybe even the Pandemic had an invisible hand in easing off the third wave, thereby allowing political parties to at least have some level of flexibility to conduct their election campaigning.

But lets not assume that poking the bear will not have consequences nor come back with a vengeance with the fourth wave of the Pandemic tipped to start in November.  And so for all those who attended the open air election manifesto launches whether out of free will or by persuasions their immunity to the virus will be tested. While for those political parties who put their interests above that of the citizens and explicitly increased the levels of vulnerability of community transmissions, well let this unconscionable behavior be imprinted as the shadow that follows them

By now we know how the Pandemic systemically operates and it does not discriminate irrespective of who you are, or how much noise you make.

But let me not digress from what I really want to explore in this commentary: namely the utility of election manifestos and whether political parties and their mode of election launches are losing their imagination.

Are Election Manifestos Still Fit Purpose?

It always seems bemusing how election manifestos have become the gospel for political parties.

But have we ever seen political parties go back to this proverbial document in the intervening period between elections? What happens to the manifesto after election campaigning and elections are done? Is the election manifesto used in the same way as the Constitution in becoming  the go to  handbook as a reference point for parties as their prod along in conducting their political affairs? And to what extent are election manifestos ventilated and updated to keep abreast of the changing nature of structural conditions in society?

These and other questions have become pertinent in reflecting and asking whether having election manifestos really capture what people already know are the constraints and socio-economic issues that plaque our communities. Or have they become just broad guides of platitudes? Better still are their intentions only meant to provide conjecture in how these issues are going to be dealt without necessarily delving into a coherent and precise operationalisation plan of the how and what this will entail in a practical sense of implementation.

Looking at the current collection of election manifestos, while they may be not construed as liquorice of all sorts, they do, however, raise the quintessential issue of who is the target audience and for what purposes.

All political parties appear to be singing from the same music sheet on issues that need to be addressed, though the difference is how their interpretation of the issues differ in terms of the objectives and contextualisation of what they are going to resolve or tackle as the challenges that sets them apart from the rest. Yet even in that it does not seem that there is much exceptionalism.

After all is said and done and in muting out the political chattering and the white noise, election manifestos are becoming nothing more than what one listener on a radio station  so eloquently described as ‘The Manifestation of Sloganneering’. Is this the real rub of election manifestos, disguising their definitive intention as nothing more than one big election slogan? And if so what are their value addition in consolidating democratic norms and principles and deepening the awareness of a participatory electoral process?

Perhaps the disaggregation of election manifestos needs to be interrogated against the theoretical assumption they make in assessing the landscape and not necessarily on whether they offer a substantive roadmap. Herein is where asking whether the launch of election manifestos serves more of a branding of the document and the pitch rather than its actual contents. Obviously leading to the other cynical set of inquiries: what percentage of the population read election manifestos? Are they seen as essential reading material for the electorate to determine how they are going to vote? In whose interests are election manifestos published? And more importantly are election manifestos relevant? Or have they just become an exercise for the sake of it in the context of continuing with the same old business as usual approach?

Election manifestos are reaching their shelf life expiry. Their intent and meaning are increasing faltering along the lines of an unaesthetic appeal.

Election Campaigning: Ritualistic Traditions or Stunted Imaginations?

Are election manifestos nothing more than extension of political parties’ lack of imagination when it comes to election campaigning?

Some critics may argue that manifestos cannot be construed as symbiotically linked to how political parties convey their messaging. Though we cannot shy away from the reality that the song and dance that accompanies each election manifesto launch, notwithstanding the spectacle that becomes predictable and off-putting at times always has the same scripted end.

COVID-19 has certainly disrupted the ritualistic train that comes to town every 5 years in the form of the political party election campaign. It is precisely a party that sees a social gathering of invites guests, that typically involves eating, drinking and entertainment. What is unclear in all of the gaiety is whether the election manifesto is even a consideration. And by that token it would seem that even where those attending hit the right tones in their aspirations about what the political party will deliver in promises, the uncanny  issue is that ‘invited guests’ already know what their expectations are, which is often exactly what is referenced in the speech and the manifesto.

So why then is all the ceremony and fanfare of an election manifesto even necessary?

Perhaps because it is political parties that are more in need of the pomp and ritualistic  traditions to feel as if there is some purpose to their existence. Even in the layout of the launch itself, the optics of the separation between the Party and their ‘invited guests’ demonstrates a gulf of ‘us and them’ that is demarcated by barriers between the stage and ‘the people’. This alone should be the warning label that should read ‘Attend at your own Peril’.

But a bigger concern is why do believe that launches of election manifestos and the nature of political party elections campaigns are going to anything other than that the stoic and unimaginative activities that they have become.

Maybe just like political parties, ordinary citizens are also looking for that ‘feel good’ moment, even if it is for a fleeting instance of make believe like ‘Alice in Wonderland’. Or could it be that that the citizenry are more willing to give political parties the benefit of the doubt that they really are the panaceas for a better life and curators of a strengthened democratic order.

Whatever it is, all I know is that election manifestos are becoming stale and the election launches are running out of any imaginative innovation.

Conclusion

So where to from here for the proverbial election manifesto?

It may be too easy to dismiss the manifesto before gleaning whether they hold significance beyond the political party. A point of departure would be to actually conduct a citizens perception survey gleaning the following perceptions:

• To what extent ordinary South Africans read election manifestos after their launch;
• Which aspects of the manifesto they find fascinating and significant;
• In what way(s) do election manifestos inform accountability and monitoring of political parties’ performance, and shape political choices for the electorate.
• What other sources of information play a critical role in assessing the viability and relevance of what is contained in election manifestos for voters.

The above set of questions should provide a broad framework for developing an ongoing quantitative study on how election manifestos define the electoral landscape. While it can be speculative that elective manifestos are becoming redundant, this needs to be supported by empirical evidence.  This assessment will hopefully provide political parties with the necessary insights in whether election manifestos need to be that imaginative spark to capture the hearts and minds of the voting base and beyond or should it be resigned to a remnant of the past. After all it is anybody’s guess how many election manifestos will underpin South Africa’s future fossil discoveries that contributed less to deepening our electoral democracy and more towards deforestation and climate change.

So maybe it is time to have an honest appraisal on whether election manifestos still remain an enigma.

Sanusha Naidu is a Senior Research Associate based with the Institute for Global Dialogue. The views expressed here are personal.