South African Set For Its Most Tightly-contested General Election Since 1994
Nearly 28 million South Africans are set to head to the polls on Wednesday, 29 May 2024 in what is set to be its most tightly-contested general election since the end of apartheid in 1994.
Opinion polls suggest the governing African National Congress (ANC) party could lose its majority for the first time in 30 years, reported Sky News.
The vote will mark South Africa’s seventh democratic general election – with the country having gone to the polls every five years since Nelson Mandela became president as the head of the ANC in 1994.
The elections take place amid high rates of unemployment and crime.
How does South Africa’s election work?
- Voters will cast three votes on election day. One ballot paper asks electors to vote for a political party. These parties are then allocated a share of 200 seats in the National Assembly based on how many votes they get.
- The second one is a “province-to-national” ballot, which will include parties and independent candidates seeking to represent each of South Africa’s nine provinces in the National Assembly. Politicians elected in this second ballot will take up the other 200 seats in the assembly, with each province allocated a number of seats based on the size of its population.
- The third ballot will be to elect members of the provincial legislature.
In South Africa, voters do not directly elect the president. The 400 members of the National Assembly vote for a new head of state within 30 days of the general election.
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Who is running in the election?
Seventy (70) political parties and 11 independent candidates will contest the national and provincial elections. The national ballot will have 52 parties listed.
What are the main opposition political parties?
South Africa’s main opposition is the centre-right Democratic Alliance (DA) led by John Steenhuisen. He has suggested he would be willing to form a coalition with the ANC if his party doesn’t secure a majority.
The DA claims South Africa is in a “crisis” under the current government and wants the nation to move towards more privatisation.
The third largest party in parliament is the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) – led by former ANC youth league leader Julius Malema.
The EFF wants to nationalise mines, banks and other key parts of the economy.
There is also the MK Party, led by former South African President Jacob Zuma – who was ousted in 2018 after facing corruption allegations.
Zuma remains the face of the MK Party’s campaign despite the fact he has been banned from running in the election because of his previous criminal conviction.
Who is expected to win the election?
Some polls have suggested the ANC is heading for less than 50% of the vote for the first time since 1994.
If that happens, the ANC may have to enter into a coalition, but South Africa’s constitution doesn’t lay out how a coalition would work.
Who is most likely to be South Africa’s next president?
The ANC is still expected to win the largest share of the vote, so its leader President Cyril Ramaphosa is likely to remain in office unless he faces an internal challenge.
When will we know the result?
By law, South Africa’s Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has seven days in which to announce full results.
However, the IEC normally starts releasing partial results within hours of the polling stations closing.
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