South Africa: General Elections Draw Near

In exactly one month, nearly 28 million South Africans will gather across the country to cast their vote to elect the next batch of leaders for the country.

The national and provincial elections have been scheduled to take place on 29 May, and it will be the 30th anniversary of South Africa’s first democratic elections, which first took place in 1994.

Coincidentally, for the first time in 30 years, it looks like the governing party, the African National Congress (ANC), could get less than 50% of the national vote.

For decades, the ANC has been hailed as the liberation party which helped end the apartheid system. However, millions of people still live in squalid conditions – without basic services like water and electricity – as the country struggles to rise from its deeply unequal past.

High levels of crime and unemployment have also dented confidence in the authorities, with racial disparities only further complicating the matter.

However, in 2019 the ANC only garnered 57% of the vote, which still secured the party as the ruling power but may have indicated a waning in trust from South Africans. Support for opposition parties has been rising but many have struggled to create a unifying message for the citizenry.

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