CAPE TOWN, May 8 (Xinhua) -- South Africans headed to the polls on Wednesday for the sixth democratic elections which revealed changing political landscape in the country since the end of apartheid in 1994.

The elections went on peacefully without snags, indicating that South Africa has matured as a democracy.

In the elections, a new National Assembly and provincial legislatures in each province will be elected. The elections, the sixth since the end of apartheid in 1994, will also determine who will become the next president.

President Cyril Ramaphosa was leading the ruling African National Congress (ANC) which is attempting to retain its majority status and secure Ramaphosa a full term in office as president.

Ramaphosa took over after his predecessor Jacob Zuma resigned in February 2018.

Casting his vote in Soweto, Johannesburg, Ramaphosa said the elections reminded people of the 1994 elections which led to the demise of apartheid.

"The response of our people to voting is amazing," the president said. "The nation and our people are energized to cast their vote and they can see that with their vote, they are heralding a new dawn. A new beginning. A period of renewal."

A total of 48 political entities were contesting in the elections, a three-fold increase, compared with the previous elections.

But only three parties - the ANC, the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) - are seen as the major forces that can shape the political landscape in the country.

The elections are expected to be the most contested as the ANC, which has remained dominant since 1994, faces growing rivalry from the DA and the EFF.

The ANC could garner 53 percent of the national vote, compared with 62 percent it received in the 2014 elections, according to the pre-election poll undertaken by the South African Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR).

The DA was expected to receive 24 percent of the vote, up from the 22.23 percent it received in the previous elections, while the EFF 14 percent, up from 6.35 percent.

The poll found that the ANC support among black voters had declined, with the DA enjoying a marginal spike.

As the ANC eyes vicitory nationwide, the focus of attention is now on the Western Cape, the only province that has been controlled by the DA. The ANC has maintained a tight grip of the other eight provinces.

The SAIRR survey predicted that the DA would keep control of the Western Cape despite the ANC's aggressive moves to wrest control of the province.

However, with significant shifts in the ANC strategy and also with cracks emerging in the DA, there are indications that the DA has lost some support in the colored community in the Western Cape, long considered a mainstay of the party's support base, particularly in impoverished townships where poor service delivery has given rise to frequent protests.

ANC Western Cape regional secretary Faiez Jacob told Xinhua that he was heartened that there could be a turnaround in the province.

"With a few hours to go, even with the challenges of the weather, we are very upbeat (about the election result)," he said.

Jacobs predicted a change of leadership in the province, saying the ANC had made entry into areas that were formerly hostile, notably because the DA failed to deliver service in the areas.

"We as the ANC have embraced all the people of the Western Cape, and we are now particularly embraced across the Cape Flats (an impoverished township in Cape Town), where we are seen as a credible alternative," he stated.

He said the new mood on the ground in the province was the result of the ANC going to the ground, responding to the issues of the people and also supporting the organic leadership at the base.

"There is now a greater resonance for the ANC as we have allowed local leaders on the ground to assume leadership," Jocob stated.

DA supporter Thembelani Mazitshana said however that the DA would retain the province, "because we embrace diversity and we are a home for all of South Africans." Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)