General elections in South Africa are happening today, on 29 May 2024, to elect a new National Assembly and the provincial legislature in each of the nine provinces. This is the seventh general election held under the conditions of universal adult suffrage since the end of the apartheid era in 1994. Today, it is essential for all South Africans when crucial conscious decisions are made at the voting station. Who will the people vote for? Will this year's election shock everyone, as the polls suggest? Will the ANC party ruling the country be over, or will we see a new face of governance emerging this year? It is a fateful day.
The ANC sovereignty is under severe threat, which may lead it to depend on the coalition to retain its power as everyone is criticising it for its lack of accountability and responsibility; each state capture turns out to be just another caucus where nothing is solved but probed personnel's pointing fingers at each other. The ANC has ruled the country since the dawn of democracy; many legislations were introduced but not implemented correctly. The ANC faces its stiffest challenge yet with a population deeply frustrated by the country's direction. If support for the ANC drops below 50% for the first time, the party is likely to be forced into a coalition government.
South Africa uses a "proportional representation" system, with 31 political parties to choose from in the national elections. The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) facilitates the process. ANC leader and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa called Wednesday's vote "one of the most important elections in our nation's history." The country is the most unequal in the world, with the highest sustained rate of unemployment in the world, rampant corruption, feeble economic growth, crippling power cuts, and rising violent crime. Black South Africans, who make up 81% of the population, are at the sharp end of this dire situation.
There are 52 parties on the national ballot, including new parties formed by previous ANC members, such as former President Jacob Zuma's uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK). Zuma was forced to resign as president in 2018 and served a brief stint in jail in 2021 for contempt of court. His party will still contest the election, and his face will remain on the ballot.
The Democratic Alliance (DA), the official opposition party, has formed a coalition bloc with smaller opposition parties called the Multi-Party Charter.
Nonetheless, numerous questions arise as people decide their fate today; all political parties campaign themselves while decampaigning other parties. All promises are being made, but will they keep those promises? Who knows? Nobody knows how it will all pan out, but everybody is hopeful for the best.
Jobs were created and destroyed, houses were built on the outskirts of cities with perfect opportunities, and infrastructures were renewed. However, the remaining infrastructure of the past reminds everyone of the perpetual existence of this painful history; the legacy of apartheid and colonialism runs more profound than what meets the eye. Can this year's election give people the voice to repurpose everything and build a better nation? Does everyone know how an equal and fair nation is created? What happened to democracy and the notion of the rainbow nation? Were all these meant to be preached to the people but not practised? The country is still divided, with economic gaps by race still retaining a similar narrative
