Last Saturday I was handing out leaflets on the food market near my house and I got to talk to a young Moroccan boy, around 20 years old. He moved to the Netherlands with his parents when he was young.
He also got his voter card in the mail (foreigners can vote for municipal elections after five years of living in the city. And you do not have to register. That goes automatically) and he was surprised. He was not sure if he was going to vote. Why should he? Would it make any difference?
He is unemployed, feels the discrimination on the labour market, as a Muslim in the Netherlands he is approached with mistrust etc.
I do understand his scepticism. But he should vote. And his friends too. Otherwise you’ll never get the attention you are entitled to as a citizen of Amsterdam. He should make his voice heard. He promised me he would vast his vote. I hope he does.

I guess campaigning in Joburg and Amsterdam has its similarities as well, but we do not go knocking door to door. I admire you for doing that. It is not a habit here. People would be very surprised if we’d pay them a visit at home.
Although that British example of canvassing has been getting more attention.
The percentage of voters for municipal elections has been going down drastically over the years. New methods to get people to the poling stations are desperately needed.

You say that you campaign for the ANC as a whole because it is about the party program and not about the persons. You are so right. But don’t you struggle with the way politics is getting more and more personal?
Here in Amsterdam my party chose for a more personal campaign. Our number one and current faction leader together with our candidate for alderman, a woman who is now in national parliament, are featuring in our television commercial on local TV. We try to get them in the papers as much as possible.
The others, like me, step back a bit. Of course they stick to the party program but people want to have the feeling they know you, to vote for you. Do you recognise that?

But local politics is not only about elections. As you know. It is about the real practical work Therefor let me tell you a bit about mine:
My issues involve youth, education, (un)employment, social welfare, cultural minorities and deprived city issues.
I read that you have a clear constituency you work for, a ward that is your responsibility. For me that’s different. We do have elected councils for various boroughs of Amsterdam and they take care of the streetlights, the pavement etc. My work is for the city as a whole.

You mentioned the illegally occupied houses. The issue of sub-sub-sub renting of houses which leads to a loss of responsibility for these houses and areas, is well know to me. Amsterdam had a shortage of houses - I guess that is similar for Joburg – and waiting list for social houses can run up to more than 15 years. Of course people can’t wait for that long and therefore they rent a room or an apartment from someone who moved in with his/her partner or moved abroad and kept the apartment.
Someone living in a house without permission does not dare to call the landlord when the lights on the stairs broke, and does not call the police when the house next door is broken into. They are afraid to get caught. But that leads to whole streets were no one takes the responsibility for its surroundings.
Building more and affordable apartments would sole the situation but it is costly and we run out of space here in Amsterdam. It’s about choices though. A more left wing coalition would prioritise the housing situation.

We are the third party in Amsterdam (there are nine parties present in the council right now, a real multi party system) but we are in opposition. The electoral fight is tough. The greens hope to return back in power in Amsterdam, like four years ago, and for a coalition with the social democrats.
On March 7 after the poling stations have closed and we have the results (Amsterdam is voting by computer for the first time which makes counting easy) the negotiation with the other parties to form a coalition will start immediately.

Caron, I wish you good luck with the elections and do tell me what the outcome was.
Greetings from your colleague in Amsterdam,
Judith Sargentini

Caron Kgomo in Johannesburg
Judith Sargentini in Amsterdam
Introductie