Okay, okay… we know… your vote is confidential. But who says you can't boldly declare who you won't be voting for? This week, in lieu of the regular debate, members of the iafrica.com team — secretly fearing hate mail, prank calls, and public lynching — have bravely agreed to state their allegiances. Or rather, lack thereof…

Lindiwe Mlandu won't be voting for the ANC…

Zanu-PF did not fall from the sky; it's a liberation movement that has hung onto power for too long. No party should remain in power forever. The ANC brought us liberation, yes, but we are now faced with different struggles. We need an organisation that is more obsessed with the people than it is with counter-revolutionaries.

The ANC is not getting my vote — they can use emotional blackmail all they want, but it's not going to change my mind.

Comrade, my foot, I want someone who can perform in office. I want my country to move forward and not be constantly reminded of what the comrades did for me.

The ANC has had 15 years experience in government. Rampant corruption within the party has overshadowed everything else that they have done. Don't get me wrong, I'm not expecting saints in government, but the way that they have dealt with those caught with their hands in the cookie jar, does not sit well with me.

Tony Yengeni was convicted of fraud, but his party praised him at each and every court appearance. The ANC hired Carl Niehaus knowing very well of his dark side. What message are they sending to ordinary citizens?

The ANC has shown no respect for the rule of law. It's their way or else they will unleash their puppies Malema and Vavi on you.

Ebrahim Moolla won't be voting for the DA…

The garish blue and yellow eyesore on the political landscape represents everything abhorrent about opposition politics. This bloated bottom feeder, sightless and free of policy, scavenges off the fat and gristle of the electorate.

The concept of the ethnic party is anathema: a dangerous throwback to an era of dompas and discrimination. Led by a woman who is but a pale imitation of the man she so desperately wants to be, this all-singing, all-dancing marionette still can't top the sexiest politician poll — despite having more (botox) jabs than the tik junkies who form the core of her constituency.

It is this sort of patrician liberalism that lights up the motes of self-denigration in so many Western Cape voters' eyes — the pathetic yearning for a return to the colonial practice of enfranchising educated coloured voters.

Where were these supposed Democrats when the disenfranchised millions were battling fate on the streets of Soweto? The same nation that lives off soil still wet with the blood of so many MK cadres.

But Zille and her cronies would have you and me and a generation of first-time voters still picking the placenta out of their teeth, believe that this isn't relevant. The Iron Lady's nuanced negotiation skills when threatening taxi unions with military action, are much like Jacob Zuma's foreplay repertoire — that is to say non-existent.

So while she attempts to win an election on a ludicrous platform of not being the ANC, I won't be 'throwing my vote in the bush'. In fact, I think I'll take a taxi to the polling station, even though it's two blocks away.

Hadlee Simons won't be voting for the IFP…

So you're a member of the all-powerful, all-seeing ANC: throwing chairs at the DA; invading Cope meetings; and taking days off from work to attend rallies. The world is your oyster isn't it?

Unfortunately for many ANC supporters in parts of KwaZulu-Natal, the IFP has scoffed that oyster, pearl and all. Election violence between the two parties has resulted in the ANC laying numerous complaints against the IFP

You have to wonder what kind of political party could cause the ANC to run away with its tail between the legs. Then you begin to wonder, "What kind of party has more violent and militant supporters than the ANC?!" In that moment, you realise that you may have to change your underwear.

While the IFP has come up with quite a few original policies, you have to wonder how well they'd be implemented when the party fails to even maintain order in election hotspots.

Another obstacle is that the IFP is seen as the 'Zulu Party'. In a nation rife with racial tension, do we really need a party that goes out of its way to wear its culture or religion on its sleeve? Way to unite the country Mr. Buthelezi…

Rebekah Kendal won't be voting for Cope…

I like that Cope is valiantly threatening to give the ANC a run for its money. I like Terror Lekota's fiery rhetoric and angry brow. I like Sam Shilowa even though I haven't quite figured out why. I like Mvume Dandala despite his religious title. And I really like the fact that the creation of Cope has invigorated South Africa's tired and incestuous political landscape.

But I won't be voting for Cope.

Because I don't like the fact that Cope's founders waited for the axing of Mbeki to stand up for what is right. Because I don't like the fact that Cope indiscriminately accepted ANC defectors. Because I don't like the fact that Cope fielded Allan Boesak as its candidate for the Western Cape.

I won't be voting for Cope because that initial optimism, that fluttering promise of change, has been quashed by the party's inability (or lack of desire) to distinguish itself from the ANC. I won't be voting Cope because I'm not quite convinced that it's an opposition party.

Ryan Bubear won't be voting for the ACDP…

Let me begin by assuring you that I am not especially anti-religion. However, it would take something of a miracle to get me to vote for the African Christian Democratic Party.

The equation is pretty darn simple: religion plus politics equals splitting headache. History proves it.

Since South Africa is a melting pot of culture (and thus religion), what would be the point of voting for a party like the ACDP, founded on the values of a single religion?

If, heaven forbid (sorry, I couldn’t resist), the ACDP were running the show, would they really be looking after the interests of all non-Christians? Would you as a Muslim, Jew, Hindu, Buddhist, Scientologist, Atheist, etc. be comfortable being defined by your non-alignment to the ruling party?

Voting along religious lines is akin to voting by race, which is something that this country desperately needs to escape. Voting for a party because others supposedly ‘like’ you do, is no reason to vote at all.

It would take an act of God (for our purposes here, loosely defined as circumstances beyond the voter’s control) for the ACDP to come out on top.

I’d vote for the ACDP when hell freezes over.

Sorry guys, but you just don’t have a prayer.

Kabous le Roux won't be voting for the FF+…

Why won't I ever vote for the Freedom Front Plus? Let me count the ways…

I couldn't care less whether the South African rugby team is called 'The Springboks' or 'The Lesser Spotted Dogfishes'. I love the name 'Tshwane' more than 'Pretoria' and believe that nobody should have to drive on a road called 'Hendrik Verwoerd'. I hate guns and believe no-one should own one. I don't believe that a society based on Christian values is something to strive for in a country of many faiths and cultures. I don't view affirmative action as discriminatory and a Volkstaat is certainly not on my Christmas wish list.

I don't feel beleaguered like the Freedom Front Plus's constituency. My life is undoubtedly much better than the majority of my compatriots and I'd rather vote for a party who will fight for the rights of all South Africans than a tiny few.

I won't vote Freedom Front Plus because it is not in my, or South Africa's, interest to do so.

Alan Cameron won't be voting for the ID…

She stands up, speaks up and refuses to shut up. She’s a feisty woman with politics in her blood. She forged a name for herself as the first among loud-mouths, but after realizing she could be more effective if she stopped propping up the PAC she started addressing South Africa alone.

Standing tall on her no-nonsense reputation, Patricia de Lille convinced me to cast my virgin vote in her direction.

And that was the last I saw of her as the years after 2003 witnessed the Independent Democrats shake hands with the ANC when they wanted something. My balloon of political innocence was popped as I watched how things are done in the real world. It’s six years later and she’s still talking loudly, but like the party she left, she has become an ineffective, noisy politician.

I still respect what she is trying to achieve, but think her efforts haven’t and won’t be rewarded (no matter how many arms deals she points out).

I will be pinning my hopes to a party that represents good governance, has impacted my environment for the better and is able to make a difference nationally. It doesn’t work being a small fish in South Africa’s political arena, and that’s why I won’t be voting ID.

Who won't (or will) you be voting for and why? Share your thoughts below…

The beggar gauntlet Rebekah Kendal reckons that begging is bad for SA because it fosters a culture of dependency.

Visit our politics page Need the latest political news, features, interviews and profiles? Visit our dedicated page...

Behind closed doors Rebekah Kendal reckons that the real losers in the Percy saga are victims of domestic abuse.