Pink Vote needs to be taken seriously

THE SA Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR) says there is power in the Pink Vote, ahead of the local government elections on November 1.

The Pink Vote, according to a report by the institute, refers to the voting preferences of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community.

Gerbrandt van Heerden, an analyst at the SAIRR, said the Pink Vote focused on how LGBTQ voters viewed South Africa’s political parties and why it was important to consider this voter segment.

“Global studies suggest that LGBTQ voters tend to be more politically engaged than other demographic groups. Evidence shows that political parties from different ideological viewpoints can compete for support from LGBTQ voters."

Van Heerden said the power of the Pink Vote could point to a strategic untapped market for political parties.

“Studies conducted by The Other Foundation have estimated South Africa’s LGBTQ population at about half a million. This means that there is potentially a sizeable number of LGBTQ voters. Understanding and appealing to it would be a matter of electoral competitiveness and a win for any political party.

“The report notes that even though the battle has been won to ensure that a long list of protections for the community is written into the Constitution, the benefits often do not extend to marginalised parts of society. Pro-LGBTQ parties in South Africa should do more to engage with this vulnerable group in order to create a safe and more equal environment for queer people.”

He said LGBTQ people were eager to show their support to anyone or any organisation that would champion their rights.

Hlengiwe Buthelezi, the executive director of the KwaZulu-Natal LGBT Recreation, said they were invested in politics. She said political parties were championing their rights, as there were LGBTQIA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual) members in local and national government. “We are finally being recognised. For example, the ANC has even made it official by creating an LGBTQIA desk under the ANC Women’s League (ANCWL). We are represented at all the structures of the ANC,” she said.

Buthelezi is the provincial convenor of the LGBTQIA desk in KwaZulu-Natal.

She said the KZN legislature had gone a step further to create an annual KZN LGBTQIA Symposium to spearhead and advance queer matters within the provincial legislature.

“It is filtering down to other regions and branches of the ANC. We are looking forward to the proper implementation of more things like the Hate Crime Bill to be in place. This can assist to reprimand hate crime perpetrators.”

Nhlakanipho Ntombela, the ANC spokesperson in KZN, said they had members of the LGBTQIA community actively participating in their structures.

“ANC councillor candidates were nominated recently in eThekwini.

“Programmes in the legislature were championed by the ANC sectoral mobilisation desk led by Nomagugu Simelane. It was implemented by this speaker, who is an ANC leader in her own right. In the black community, they are starting to come out in the open and engage in our political programmes across the spectrum,” said Ntombela.

Themba Mvubu, the regional chairperson of the EFF in eThekwini, said since the party’s inception eight years ago, they had been vocal about the rights of the LGBTQ community.

“The EFF leadership had a number of meetings with the LGBTQ members, especially when it was drafting its manifesto for the 2019 general elections. The EFF manifesto is very clear and elaborate on the rights of LGBTQ. It is the EFF that continues the call to amend the Criminal Law Amendment Act to include a harsher minimum sentence for corrective rape specifically, or crimes committed with hatred as a motivation.

“We believe we have a strong support system in the LGBTQ community and we will continue to work together through our structures. The EFF’s gender-based violence help desk held its seminar in the Johannesburg Council Chamber recently. Many activists and leaders from the LGBTQ community attended.”

Martin Meyer, the DA provincial spokesperson for Human Settlements, Agriculture and Rural Development, said they had the DA Rainbow Network (Darn), where they discussed and promoted matters that affected the LGBTIQ community. “As a liberal party, the DA has a long and proud history of fighting for the rights of the LGBTIQ community. The DA has a number of open members of the LGBTIQ community representing the party on all levels of government– local, provincial and national.

“We have engaged with representatives and organisations working with the community, and our events are always well attended. We get a lot of queries and requests from members of the LGBTIQ community, and we recently launched a large branch of Darn in Inanda. We feel that is definite support and appreciation for the work the DA does.”