South Africans vote in 'most competitive election' since 1994
TLDR
- Historic and competitive election in South Africa with potential loss of parliamentary majority by ANC after 30 years.
- Voters express concerns about high unemployment, crime, power outages, and corruption within ANC as reasons for shifting support.
- Over 27 million registered voters participating in the election across 23,000 polling stations until 9 p.m.
South Africans vote on Wednesday in a highly competitive election, with opinion polls suggesting that the African National Congress (ANC) might lose its parliamentary majority for the first time in 30 years.
Voting began at 7 a.m. (0500 GMT) and saw long queues forming in major cities like Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban, as well as in townships and rural areas, Reuters reported.
Voters cited high unemployment, rampant crime, frequent power outages, and corruption within ANC ranks as motivations for supporting opposition parties. Over 27 million South Africans are registered to vote across more than 23,000 polling stations, with the process continuing until 9 p.m. (1900 GMT).
Key Takeaways
The ANC, under Nelson Mandela, achieved a historic victory in South Africa's first multi-racial election in 1994 and has maintained a majority in national elections every five years since. However, its share of the vote has steadily declined over the years. If the ANC fails to secure over 50% of the vote this time, it will need to form a coalition with smaller parties to govern, a new and potentially turbulent scenario for the nation’s young democracy, which has been dominated by a single-party so far. Voters are selecting members of provincial assemblies in each of the nine provinces and a new national parliament, which will then choose the next president. Despite the challenges, the ANC is still expected to win the largest share of the vote, likely keeping President Cyril Ramaphosa in office.
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