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WITH MORE THAN 20 percent of votes counted in South Africa’s landmark general election, the ruling ANC appeared set to win a fifth consecutive term in office Thursday, but with a significantly reduced margin.
After millions of determined South Africans — including hundreds of thousands of first-time “born free” voters — turned out in force, the ANC was ahead with more than two million ballots counted by 3.30am last night.
The African National Congress held 56 percent of the vote, down signficantly from the 66 percent it won at the last election, amid successive scandals surrounding its leader President Jacob Zuma.
The opposition Democratic Alliance was seen nearly doubling its share of the popular vote to 30 percent, although the tallies could still change significantly.
Twenty years after South Africans of all colours wowed the world by voting to end apartheid, they had shrugged off sporadic violence to cast their ballots Wednesday in the first poll since the death of democratic hero Nelson Mandela.
His African National Congress was widely expected to win, but strong turnout in South Africa’s cities could prove a boon for the party’s political foes.
Pansy Tlakula, chairperson of the Election Commission, said voting “proceeded without serious incident in almost all areas.
Very high volume of voters were reported in metro areas throughout the country.
Anything less than 60 percent for the ANC would be seen as a major upset and raise questions about Zuma’s leadership.
Casting his ballot in his home village of Nkandla, Zuma said he expected the “results will be very good” but conceded the campaign had been “very challenging”.
Zuma has been a lightning rod for criticism of the ANC and has been pilloried for the government spending $23 million (17 million euros) of taxpayers’ money to upgrade his private home.
Commentators have billed this election as the last to be dominated by the memory of apartheid.
A new generation of South Africans — numbering around two million, with around 646,000 registered to vote — were born after the end of apartheid and cast their ballots for the first time.
“I am kind of nervous, thinking ‘Have I made a good decision or not?’” said Lesedi Nene aged 19.
‘This is our right’
A record 25 million voters registered for the elections despite mounting anger over joblessness, inequality and corruption.
“People died for this right. They must not waste it,” said Nobel peace laureate Desmond Tutu, a liberation struggle veteran who has said openly he will not vote for the ANC this time.
The eve of the ballot was marred by isolated incidents of violence, with police and 1,850 troops deployed to several areas to keep order.
In Bekkersdal near Soweto, protesters had thrown rocks at police vehicles and set fire to a polling station just hours before it was due to open.
But residents vowed not to be dissuaded from voting. They poured into the township’s 15 polling centres, many on foot and some pushed in wheelchairs and wheelbarrows.
Mandela
Throughout the campaign the ANC relied heavily on past anti-apartheid glories and on the outpouring of grief over the death in December of its former leader Mandela to shore up support.
But the party’s heroic past collides with South Africa’s harsh present.
Polls showed many voters disaffected with the country’s current crop of leaders and willing to consider the centrist opposition Democratic Alliance or left-wing firebrand Julius Malema.
Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters party is less than a year old, but early results showed it winning around four percent of the vote. If sustained that could be enough for more than a dozen seats in parliament.
It has campaigned on a pledge to nationalise the mines and seize white-owned land without compensation.
On the other side of the political spectrum, the Democratic Alliance was expected to improve its vote and retain control of the Western Cape provincial government, but it still struggles to appeal to mainstream black voters.
A more complete picture of the outcome of the polls is expected by midday on Thursday.
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€17million from the taxpayer to do up his gaff!!!!
Kinda makes our lot look like a crowd of amateurs.
ANC treated Tutu disgracefully around Mandela’s funeral too.
The ANC are a joke and even worse are Malema’s crowd they would turn SA into Zimbabwe
I wonder if there will ever be a white government in SA again?
Not a chance.
The white flight will continue from SA.
The country will be much poorer for it.
Wasn’t the last stretch enough time for ‘white government’ (you really mean minority government)..
This apartheid nostalgia on the part of many white South Africans shows why change has come so slowly. The initial enthusiasm and relief has turned to resentment and bigotry.
@Business Cat..
Yes South Africa will be poorer for it because they’ll take with them the wealth they have taken from the country through decades of dictatorial and oppressive rule.
White South Africans aren’t wealthier than their black and coloured compatriots because they are better people, it’s because a legacy of privilege, state sanctioned theft, and near slavery has left them with all the financial and economic clout.
Oh and shock horror, imagine nationalising massive farms.. Why it’s almost like theft. Not like when the Europeans took the land.. That wasn’t theft at all. Nosirree, not theft at all.
Is Oscar running?
He wasn’t eligible to run this time round… If he’s found guilty he’ll have a better chance next time. Gotta have that all important criminal record first!
ANC is haemorrhaging support. It’s a party in decline and for good reason. A 25 percent unemployment rate coupled with the August 2012 killing of 34 protesters by police at Lonmin Marikana platinum mine in Rustenburg, Since then, the party has been tainted by revelations that the state spent more than 200 million rand ($18.5 million) upgrading President Jacob Zuma’s private home in Nkandla in the eastern KwaZulu-Natal province.
The DA can celebrate the truth of its official opposition title growing 50% over 5 yrs to 1in4 possible only with increased black backing. This was a white party with 1% in 1994. I have worked with them over the last 2 years on their young leaders programme and it is on the road to becoming a truly diversified party – though not there yet. ( coloured vote 61%, white vote 89%, black vote 15%) a future leader to watch out for – Mmusi Maimane from guateng province or lindinwe Majibuko,
The Economic Freedom Fighters will also continue to suck talent and energy from the ANCs left in years to come.
Pluralistic democracy might actually be a reality for the first time in South African history. The people win.
The African National Circus will continue to make promises and be voted in while they live it up on the tax payer and their supporters starve in their shacks. With all that’s gone on this year like zumaville and the e-toll… Anyone who still votes ANC is a fool and deserves the ANC. It’s just a pity the rest of the country is stuck with their mess too!!!
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