South Africans on Wednesday started voting in parliamentary and provincial elections.
The ruling African National Congress is facing a tough challenge this time round as it seeks to still maintain its dominance.
The party has won every parliamentary election since the end of apartheid in 1994.
Although there are indications the elections would be tough, it still has the brightest chance of winning.
The parties are contesting for 400 seats in the National Assembly. Wednesday voting is taking place 25 years since the end of the white minority rule.
The main opposition parties likely to give the ANC a tough contest are the Democratic Alliance (DA) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).
AFP reports that based on opinion polls suggest the ANC will secure over 50% of the vote.
The DA is forecast to get about 20% but should that be true it would mean a fall in the ANC’s vote share.
In the last election in 2014 it secured 62% of the vote. In recent years it has faced a lot of challenges requiring a change in leadership.
Key indicators for the elections:
- 26.76 million registered voters
- 55% of them are female
- A record 48 parties are on the ballot
- 28,757 voting stations
- 220,000 members of electoral staff
- Six million young people did not register to vote
#SAElections2019 #CapeTown These Kraaifontein residents aren’t letting the cold & rain stop them from voting. @MoniqueMortlock pic.twitter.com/r0nKNzw5xD
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) May 8, 2019
Voting ends at 9pm local time (19:00 GMT). Voters are to elect MPs who then go on to elect a president from the winning party when parliament is convened.
??? VOTING CHECKLIST #SAElections2019
☑️ You must be registered to vote
? Stations open at 07:00 and close at 21:00
?You can vote anywhere in the country for the national vote
?You must be in your province for the provincial vote— News24 (@News24) May 8, 2019
The main issues of concern to voters in these elections are corruption, lack of jobs and land reforms.
Source: Africafeeds.com
