DDP Political Summit 2024

The Democracy Development Program hosted a political summit themed 30 years of South Africa’s Democracy: Making sense of the 2024 Electoral Outcomes. This event was a sequel of the two Multiparty forums that the organisation held before elections. Most importantly the summit sought to retrospect and critically analyse post elections state of affairs.  DDP’s senior program’s officer- Mr Sphamandla Brian Mhlongoo was a program director for the session.

The purpose of this summit was premised on the 2024 elections outcomes. The organisation presented the nation with an opportunity to reflect and chart the way forward for how it intends to trek forward given the introduction of the new dispensation, and it is a journey that we have to traversed collectively. These elections were a watershed moment, with incredibly surprising electoral outcomes.

A brief presentation from the Electoral Commission ‘Provincial coordinator Mrs Ntombifuthi Masinga emphasized on the importance of active citizenship, cautioning people against the idea that change can only be done by political leaders. “Civic education, active citizenship begings at home, schools, workplaces, communities and it is cemented through elections said Ms Masinga.

A panel discussion consisting of a former politician Mbali Ntuli who gave a befitting reflection of the elections as she is also a director of civic education organisation – Groundwork Collective. Prof Ntsikelelo Breakfast from Nelson Mandela University dissected the intricacies of the new Government of National Unity by looking into the pros and cons, and possible a beginning of new form of politics.   The panel also had Thobani Zikalala a political analyst who mostly delved into an expansive discussion on the importance of democratic tools and practices that have shaped global politics, but he also gave an analysis on how political systems have evolved over time.

Our session moderator, Ms Thabile Mdluli established focus groups where people reflected on the panel discussion and the theme. The audience exhibited a great level of appreciation of the electoral results, even though some were skeptical on how the Government of National Unity would look like.

Our Executive Director, Dr Paul Kariuki thanked everyone for gracing the event, including the panel members who provided an insight in unpacking the new dispensation. He emphasized the importance of building bridges between political leadership and civil society as they traversed the charted waters as this journey is ne for all parties involved. He cemented that DDP is committed to co-creating platforms like this to provide strategic reflection.

In conclusion, DDP is very proud of the work the team has been able to do in preparing the citizenry for elections, providing civic education before elections, and observing the elections closely to ensure free and fair elections. This summit was an incredible passage for the thought-provoking reflections, to build hope for a better government and establish methods on how we hold each other accountable.