Relatively unusual in Africa and large swathes of the world, we are free to choose whom we want to represent us, free to associate with whom we want, and to believe and say what we want. Don't waste it.

There's an old French expression that tells us that if you don't occupy yourself with politics, politics will occupy you. The English equivalent is that you get the government you vote for - which means that not voting is as much of a vote as actually making a tick on a ballot paper.

This year is the 30th anniversary of that momentous occasion when Nelson Mandela cast his vote for the first time in his life - at the age of 77. All around South Africa, millions of other citizens waited in the sun in queues that snaked around hastily designated polling stations to vote too.

But it hasn't taken too long for the euphoria to wear off. Far too few of us are voting. Far too few can even be bothered to register to vote. It's a tragic situation, especially in a country where the act of voting is deemed so sacred that you get a special public holiday to do just that. Not every country does that.

And yet, in the last elections, only 66% of the 26,756,649 people who registered to vote chose to cast their vote. Two-thirds is a good turnout until you look at the...