I will not. Hon Chief Whip, please take your seat. [Laughter.]
Madam Deputy Speaker, the ANC boasted in its press statements that these three seats would form part of the vanguard of its electoral strategy, especially in the Western Cape. However, the people of Kirkwood, Manenberg, Heideveld, Gugulethu and, yes, the people of Grabouw, know better. [Interjections.]
The DA has triumphed because people want to live a better life, not just to receive more empty promises from an ANC elite. Why is this significant? It shows that human rights, the tangibles of freedom, are stirring within the souls of every South African citizen. The ANC is being punished for its complacency in government at the ballot box. This is democracy at work.
More and more people are casting aside old allegiances to use their political freedom to gain access to the freedoms contained in the world's most progressive Constitution. The best thing about freedom is that people realise that you do not need to vote for the ANC to honour your past. More importantly, people are realising that you cannot vote for the ANC if you want to own your future.
The DA has emerged as the party for South Africans who want to honour their past and who want to own their future. Our debate today signals a return to that pervasive hope of April 1994. We ask ourselves: How do we translate freedom at the ballot box into real gains for every citizen? If we believe that we can secure our country just by talking without acting, then we betray the sacrifice of those who came before us to secure our freedom. Let us never forget the high standard that we aspire to. If only one South African remains in chains, then none of us is free. I thank you. [Applause.]