Put your money where your vote is
As election fever in South Africa heats up and political parties go all out – singing and dancing in some cases – to win the hearts and minds of voters, the newly formed Congress of the People (COPE) is making it easy for South Africans to vote with their wallets through the use of SMS text messages. And for those of you not sure if you are registered to vote in the 2009 elections, it is possible to check at your local Municipal Electoral Office during office hours or visit www.elections.org.za.
Supporters of COPE can donate R10.00, R30.00 or a monthly amount of R50.00 to the party by sending a SMS text message to a designated shortcode number. With the tagline of ‘No amount is too small, the power to protect our democracy lies with you’, the party has innovatively tapped into a mass market that, through their cellphones, can make their voices heard. Other South African political parties making use of SMS text messaging to raise funds are the Democratic Alliance, the African Christian Democratic Party, the Azanian Native Socialist Congress, the Independent Democrats, Inkatha Freedom Party and the United Democratic Movement. Once you have sent a SMS to the designated number, you will be asked for your bank account details which will be linked to your cellphone number and the money pledged will be deducted from your account.
Although the African National Congress (ANC) has not yet caught on to the power of having a million or so citizens donating R10.00 each, they do allow you to sign up to receive bulk SMS text message alerts on your cellphone. By sending a SMS the word ‘ANC’ to 31186, Vodacom subscribers can receive a maximum of 3 alerts a week of regular news alerts from the ANC at R1.00 a text alert while Cell C and MTN subscribers are charged R10.00 for 10 alerts. Text messaging is also extremely useful and effective in mobilising and reminding party members to vote on election day.
As more consumers all over the world use their cellphones to buy products, book appointments, reserve tickets and make payments at stores, it is inevitable that the cellphone also becomes a political marketing and fundraising tool. Following Barak Obama’s successful presidential campaign which incorporated mobile marketing and SMS, South African politicians are not far behind in grabbling the opportunities presented by this innovative mobile medium. With cellphone penetration at nearly 100% in South African compared to a very low rate of Internet access it only makes sense that citizens, even in remote areas, are able to contribute via their only medium of communication – the cellphone.
One would hope that it doesn’t stop there but eventually extends to a two-way SMS communication system whereby citizens are able to vote in referendums, elections or comment on issues of national concern from a mobile platform. A really active and involved civil society might be slightly too much for our current politicians to deal with but in the interests of creating a truly vibrant and working democracy, SMS text messaging is a viable and exciting political tool.
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