South Africa’s ruling party African National Congress (ANC) is almost certain to win today’s election, but it still faces the biggest challenge since coming to power at the end of apartheid in 1994, according to latest surveys.
The key issue is whether it can retain the two-thirds majority in parliament which it has kept for the past 15-years it has been in power.
As the governing party, the ANC has always focused on reconciliation, stability and development; resolving ethnic problems properly, improving black people’s political and economic situations. Some polls showed that the ANC still dominates politics in South Africa and is expected to obtain 60 percent of the vote in today’s election.
The recently formed breakaway party Congress of the People (COPE) formed by ANC dissidents last year, may pose the biggest challenge to the ANC.It could reduce the ANC’s dominance in parliament in the face of growing public anger over graft, poor services, poverty and crime.
However, the National Prosecuting Authority gave the ANC a boost in mid-April when they dropped graft charges against the party leader Jacob Zuma, paving the way for him to be elected president.
COPE has changed the political landscape, but some analysts said its chances of breaking the ANC’s dominance have faded after an initial buzz.
Recent polls have shown that as a party set up just a few months ago, the COPE could only draw eight to 12 percent of the votes with some polls placing the party at six percent.
South Africa’s main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) only won 12 percent of the votes in the last election in 2004 and is largely regarded as a white-dominated party, just winning limited support among black voters. DA leader Helen Zille has set a goal for her party to prevent the ANC from gripping a two-thirds majority in parliament which it needs to rewrite the constitution.
Internal splits have become the main reason for the ANC’s decreased support. The party was rocked by internal feuding between party leader Zuma and former president Thabo Mbeki’s supporters and resulted in the creation of COPE late last year.
Meanwhile, South African people are growingly concerned about unemployment, HIV/AIDS, crime, poverty and corruption among others. HIV and AIDS are major health concerns with the country ranked fifth in terms of HIV/AIDS prevalence globally. The South African National HIV Survey estimated that 10.8 percent of all South Africans over two years old were living with HIV in 2005.
Crime has had a pronounced effect on the South African society: many middle-class South Africans moved into gated communities, abandoning the central business districts of some cities for the relative security of suburbs.
ZANIS/XINHUA/ENDS/MM
Its a wait and see situation
FTJ and VJ are there to show them how not to lose an election.
Zuma came to meet VJ in the name of attending N’chwara ceneony. VJ can’t be trusted to monitor elections, we all know who VJ is.
Zambian 2011 is near we need to do something about VJ before he play the dirty games on again, I can see he has done it in south Africa who know what plans he has in 2011???? we need act !!!!!!
Imwe banthu Obasanjo is in South Africa. Why not John Kufour who accepted the results without bloodshed? Anyway JZ will win but watch this space it’s like voting for FTJ or Muluzi mu government. Things will be so compromised. Anyway bazatipeza banthu aba ukutangila tekufika iyo. twali bonse mu load shedding nomba tuli bonse mu democracy.
ANC winning is a foregone conclusion, what is important is the margin this time around! (What with abena Ntwane abesu there).
The undereducated is going to rule SA. What is Maestro’s position???
The key to South Africa’s future is whether they can deliver a turnback of Apartheid’s land policies, and build the houses and public services that the people of South Africa deserve.
The DA has no such priorities. If this Congress of the People has these interest, they can still caucus with the ANC on specific issues.
There is a reason the ANC is the dominant party, and that is that of the big parties, they are the most closely allied to the people’s interest.
It is important that we focus on the actual policies, not just ‘character’, especially when it are really the party’s policies that are being attacked, under the disguise of attacking ‘character’.
I hope Jacob Zuma fulfills his potential as a Liberation Fighter.
kaili nomba nabena ba kwateko president uwapala ama presidents besu…then they will really know that they are part of africa…….te Obama bale votela mu power ka ni JZ uwali charged na corruption!!!