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In the heart of Soweto, in the presidential constituency, support for the African National Congress (ANC) was everywhere as South Africa went to the pollswith many voters wearing the party’s bright yellow and speaking of their families’ loyalty to the movement that fought to end apartheid.
Here too, however, there were voters who had turned against the ANCas he risked losing his majority in the national elections on Wednesday for the first time since Nelson Mandela swept it to power in South Africa’s first fully democratic vote in 1994.
“If you see our streets, we have no houses; we have no electricity; we don’t have jobs, so I don’t like this party anymore,” said Nancy Baloyi, a 48-year-old former cinema worker who lost her job during the Covid-19 pandemic.
She said she would vote for the Democratic Alliance, the biggest opposition party, rejecting criticism from many other black voters that it only represents the interests of white people (which the party itself denies).
“I just need a change. That’s it,” Baloyi said as he lined up outside to vote in the cold, clear morning.
Studies consistently show ANC on less than half of the national vote, down from 57.5% in the last national vote in 2019 and after securing just 45.6% in the 2021 municipal elections. The party maintenance is broken from chronically high unemployment, corruption scandals and blackouts.
However, polls have often underestimated the ANC’s vote as a result of polling fewer of the rural voters who form its base of support. Some analysts said the possibility of a slim ANC majority could not be ruled out because of its history of freedom struggle, unmatched organizational power and incumbency advantages.
The President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosatold reporters after casting his vote at Hitekani Primary School, near where he grew up: “I have no doubt in my heart that the people will once again invest confidence in the African National Congress to continue to lead this country.”
This is a great day for democracy in South Africa. Today we are voting for the stability and expansion of our democracy.
Today, South Africa is deciding the future of our country and I have no doubt that the people will once again invest their trust and mandate the… pic.twitter.com/6RUhQxaPlr
— Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦 (@CyrilRamaphosa) May 29, 2024
Sibusiso Dube, who carried a small ANC flag, adding that he lived down the street from Ramaphosa, said: “My mother supported the ANC; my father, my grandmother, my great grandmother, they all supported the ANC. I grew up with the ANC so I continue with it.”
Dube, 33, who is unemployed and lives on a monthly government subsidy of 370 rand (£16), also cited the lack of scheduled power outages, known as load shedding, as a reason for his support. There has been no unloading for two months, the longest period in more than two years.
While some voters expressed openness to the idea of the ANC expected to remain the largest party to some extent, potentially entering into a coalition with smaller parties, others were less supportive.
“I don’t want rotten potatoes to spoil everything,” said Regina Mgnumi, 46, a government employee, after voting at a school in Atteridgeville, a town on the western outskirts of Pretoria.
Mgnumi said she voted for the Economic Freedom Fighters, a Marxist-inspired party founded by the former ANC youth leader Julius Malema, and did not want them to join an ANC-led coalition government. “They will corrupt the EFF, the ANC.”
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