South African citizens cast their votes in what has been described as the nation’s fiercest election apartheid.
Research shows the possibility of the African National Congress (ANC) relinquishing its three-decade-long parliamentary dominance.
In the urban hubs of Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban, lines began to snake through the streets as the polling stations opened at around 7 am.
Similar scenes unfolded in the chilly morning air in townships bordering and cities in rural areas.
28 million registered voters across the nine provinces are to vote for representatives to national and provincial parliaments. In turn, the winning parties will then name a president and a cabinet.
Here are South Africa’s Presidential Candidates you need to know about;
Cyril Ramaphosa. The current leader of South Africa and the ANC, Ramaphosa, is aiming for his second and final office, despite facing significant challenges within his party’s ranks.
Hailing from Soweto, the 71-year-old was part of the iconic ANC generation led by Nelson Mandela that brought about an end to apartheid in 1994. He reentered politics in 2014 as deputy president and assumed the presidency in 2018 following the registration of the former president Jacob Zuma.
Despite weathering various scandals during his reign, notably the 2022 Phala Phala controversy where allegations of him concealing $4 million in laundered fuds at his farmhouse, With the persistent issues of unemployment, infrastructure failures such as power and water cuts, and deep-seated economic inequalities that have significantly marred both his and ANC’s legacy.
Public dissatisfaction has reached unprecedented levels, with opinion polls indicating a step decline in support for the party, projected to garner only around 43.4 percent of the vote compared 57.5 percent in the previous elections.
John Steenhuisen. He leads the official opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) with a strong focus on portraying his party as the savior of South Africa from the ANC’s grip.
However there’s a prevalent perception that the DA primarily advocates for the middle class, particularly in the stronghold of the Western Cape, disregarding the broader demographics of a nation where the majority are working class Black citizens.
Jacob Zuma. The previous president emerges as the unpredictable factor in the election saga. Initially slated for a parliamentary run, he faced disqualification from the candidate list of the new uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party due to a late court ruling citing in the 2021 conviction.
Consequently, he is orchestrating from the sidelines, exploring a newfound role as a kingmaker through a surrogate. Zuma returns with a vengeance, resolute in becoming a persistent obstacle to the ANC, his former ally turned adversary.
Julius Malema is the founder of the Economic Freedom Party (EFF), a fiercely anti-establishment, Marxist, Pan-Africanist movement deeply committed to the empowerment of Black South Africans. The party relentlessly criticizes the ANC for neglecting the needs of its primary demographic.
The 43 year old started his political journey as a teenager and rose to prominence as the leader of the ANC Youth League in 2008, gaining nationalwide popularity. Despite his former alliance with Zuma, he was expelled from the ANC in 2012 due to conflicts witj party members.
Malema has faced accusations of hate speech against white South Africans but maintains appeal among youth domestically and across Africa.
