By Odwa Bafana Mkentane
Ahead of the final voter registration this coming weekend, The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) in the Western Cape hosted a Thought Leadership Seminar, under the theme “From Ballot to Better Governance: The Power of Consequential Decisions,” as part of its active citizen participation initiative ahead of the 4 November 2026 Local Government Elections. The seminar aims to promote informed and critical-thinking voter participation by helping citizens navigate the complex political information environment.
The seminar brought together academics, civil society, business leaders and faith-based organisations to examine how voters make decisions and why accountability extends beyond election day.
Amongst the attendees was Gift of the Givers Founder Dr Imitiaz Sooliman who stressed that active voter participation is essential for improving governance and creating positive change, arguing that people cannot transform the country by avoiding elections but by taking part in them.
“It’s very positive that such an engagement was set up, created by the IEC. But more important, it was the response of the public and those who participated here from very varied organizations. And it’s great to see there’s such an interest in fixing our country, in getting better governance, getting people with ethical values, and getting the youth also to vote. So, this is very positive for our country, and we need similar engagements throughout the country more often. Unfortunately, we cannot extend the voter registration, which I have asked for, because we can use this time period to encourage many more people to get involved, said Dr Sooliman.
Dr Sooliman further emphasised that effective leadership depends more on values such as honesty, integrity, compassion, and a commitment to serving others than on academic qualifications or professional skills.
“I would like to see the change in the quality of the candidates. I like to see people who really care about their country, who really care about their people. I say this often. Do people go to government to serve the country or to serve themselves? And over the last few years, we have got more people serving themselves than serving the country. I need people now who will come into civil service to serve the people and the country.
They may not be qualified, they may not have academic skills, but if they have the heart, somebody can advise them to do things the right way. You cannot give people compassion. You can give them education on how to fix the system, but you can’t give them heart which naturally comes to people,” he said.
Photo: VOCfm
