CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — south africa elections It will determine how exhausted this country is. Ruling African National Congress PartyHe has been in power ever since. The end of the apartheid system of white minority rule 30 years ago.
President Cyril Ramaphosa and the ANC struggle to maintain a parliamentary majority, with opinion polls predicting the party is likely to gain support. Less than 50% of the national vote For the first time since the May 29 election.
That does not mean the beleaguered ANC will lose power in Africa’s most advanced economy.
The famed organization once led by Nelson Mandela has declined in popularity, but no one has stepped up to replace it. Instead, South Africans turned their backs on the ANC and began looking for answers within the various opposition parties.
Therefore, the ANC is still expected to win the largest share of votes.However, without a complete majority, it is necessary to form a coalition to maintain power. and keep ramaphosa For his second and final term as president. For the continent’s major powers, this could pose new complications, given that some recent coalitions at the local level have failed spectacularly.
Although most South Africans appear willing to register their grievances with the ANC at a critical moment, a coalition government may not easily solve the country’s big problems, including global challenges. highest unemployment rate and inequality.
How are elections held?
Rather than voting directly for the president, South Africans decide on the composition of parliament, known as the National Assembly. They do so by choosing political parties, and those parties receive seats in parliament depending on their share of the national vote. The 400-member National Assembly then elects the president. This means that the party that wins a majority elects the head of state.
Since then, ANC has always been used. The first all-race election was held in 1994.But this time, Ramaphosa, 71, may need to strike a deal with other parties to secure the 201 votes from MPs needed to re-elect him and form a government.
The election effectively begins on Friday and Saturday, when South Africans living abroad vote at their embassies and diplomatic missions. General election It will be held in all nine states on May 29th. It will determine the composition of both the National and State Legislatures.
Just over 27 million people out of a population of 62 million are registered to vote, and this will be only the seventh fully democratic national election since the end of apartheid.
Who is running?
A record 70 political parties will be registered to vote, and independent candidates will be allowed to run for the first time.
The fate of the ANC is front page news: Ramaphosa is the party’s leader; The face of the campaign. The main opposition is centrist democratic alliance, or D.A. The party struck the deal in the hope that a joint vote with several smaller parties could force the ANC out of power completely. Polls show they are far from that goal.
far left economic freedom fightersor EFF, is the third largest political party and is led by Julius Malema. Passionate former ANC youth leader.
In the last national election, the DA won about 20%, the EFF 10% and the ANC 57.5%. It appears that support ratings for neither opposition party have increased significantly.
The main reason for this is that dozens of other political parties, many of them startups, have acquired small stakes. Although 80% of the population is black, South Africa is a multiracial, multicultural society with five defined racial groups, many ethnicities, and 12 official languages. A similarly diverse political picture is beginning to emerge.
Of the new political parties, Umkhonto Wesizwe (meaning Spear of the Nation) has received the most attention because it is led by former South African president Jacob Zuma. turned his back on the ANC he used to lead in a fierce battle Ramaphosa, who replaced him.
What’s the big problem?
Unemployment and poverty stand out as the most pressing problems for the majority of people. Although South Africa is considered Africa’s most developed country, its contradictions are striking. Also, Unemployment rate According to the World Bank, more than half of South Africans live in poverty.
it is caused most of the dissatisfaction Thirty years after apartheid, which brutally oppressed black people in favor of the white minority, the poor black majority feels that the ANC has not done enough to improve their lives.
Other prominent election issues seen as alienating voters from the ANC are: High incidence of violent crimemultiple governments corruption scandal For many years, Failure of some basic government services And the crisis of the national electricity supply company That led to a nationwide power outage Run regularly to save power. Although the power outages eased ahead of the election, they angered the public and caused further damage to the struggling economy.
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