I have voted in the South African Election. I went down after work, and the queue was shorter. It took less than an hour. People were cheerfull, took the bureaucracy and random paperwork in good humour. I have a loony afrikaaner/religious/political pamphlet. My ID book has been stamped and my left thumb inked, as is the South African custom on this occasion.

That's better. I'm glad that I voted after work. I voted for ... let's just say that it wasn't a Congress.

I'm way too busy doing everything. Some days you can't win.

I got to the main office at 9am today, to find that the review meeting for $PrevClient had been cancelled at the last minute. Took the time to catch up on my timesheet (still need codes for $NextClient) before I was going to head over to $NextClient. I looked up that I am indeed registered to vote in South africa's general election on the 22nd (they hadn't sent any email in reply), I checked details of where to go on that date ... and found that overseas voting was being held on the 15th. Yeah, today.

I had time due to the cancelled meeting, so I went home to collect ID (and while there, unload washing machine, load it again, and take in some parcels that had arrived outside the door. Busy). I got to Trafalgar square by 11:30, and found the queue winding past South Africa House to the National gallery to be long, wide and not moving much. After a few minutes I gave up and headed to $NextClient, who are near TCR.

Despite the crowds, I did not think that a large percentage of the estimated 600 000 South Africans in London (update: probably 100 000 not 600 000) were present. None of the ones that I know are. The process has not been well-publicised at all, and many were discouraged or missed the cut-off dates. If I'd known about it even a few days ago, I would have been there at 7am when it opened. The government may have been legally required to allow foreign voting (voters who mostly do not support the government) but that's about as far as it goes. If they could have put the polling booth in a swamp filled with aligators, they might well have.

No, it's not a bad thing to vote against the current South African government. They've been in power too long. it happend to UK Labour, it happend to the ANC. the party of Jacob Zuma is not the party of Nelson Mandela anymore. It's not even the party of Thabo Mbeki.

On the plus side, our 2pm meeting is in the cool and freaky cat building of Mornington crescent. I used to live across from there, but have never been in.

---

Update: I went down after work and sucessfully voted

I'd like to congratulate citizens of the United States of America on their election. Now it's done.

it seems to be one of these "generational shift" things, when the slowly changing order of the world is suddenly and noticeably different from the previous assumptions. Welcome to the future. You could say that daily, but I'll just say it now.

Now, prepare for disappointment, the expectations are going to be overblown. But honestly, after the last 8 years, even the resumption of competence would be a welcome relief.