More than 27 million South Africans are registered to vote. Most went to more than 23,000 polling stations on Wednesday, in schools, sports centres... Voting ended at 9pm local time (7 GMT), and the first partial results could come later than usual, no sooner than Friday, as the outcome is expected to be tighter than ever.
Most observers described these elections as the most competitive since the end of apartheid.
Opinion polls suggest the African National Congress (ANC) could lose its parliamentary majority after 30 years in government.
Polling stations opened around 7 am local time (5 GMT) on Wednesday, with voters queuing at some locations.
President Cyril Ramaphosa voted at the Hitekani Primary School in the vast township of Soweto near Johannesburg.
Dissatisfaction
The elections went well, according to Goodluck Jonathan, who is leading an observer mission of the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy for Africa.
"The contest this year is quite severe," he said. "The struggle is a bit tougher and more challenging to even the bigger parties."
"Of course, the electoral commission of South Africa, we trust them and we know they will not disappoint us," he added.
During the campaign, many voters expressed disappointment and dissatisfaction over high rates of unemployment and crime, frequent power blackouts, inequality, and the level of corruption.
If the ruling ANC falls short of 50 percent of the votes, it will have to make a deal with one or more smaller parties to govern, which would be a first in South Africa.
Higher participation
South Africa vote turnout is expected to be higher than in 2019, according to the Election Commission (IEC).
Turnout in South African elections has gradually dropped over the years as disenchantment with the ANC set in.
One key variable in this election was the new possibilities of change, drawing more voters to the polling stations.
"I arrived early before the station opened," independent election observer Maubate Kekana said, at Sandton Fire Station in an affluent business district in northern Johannesburg.
"And it was really quite a big queue outside. So really hoping that there's a big turnout during the course of the day," she added.
In the afternoon, in the Eastern Cape, five voting stations had to closed however, due to people protesting over service delivery issues, the IEC’s electoral officer Kayakazi Magudumana said.
“Given the state of the nation, it’s important that the country should participate in terms of determining the future,” President Ramaphosa said after voting.
“The ANC has been saying it must renew itself," he added. "So the ANC must do that. It’s important because the ANC has a very important role to play in terms of the future of the country”.
Tiers of democracy
Voters elect their new national parliament, which will then choose the next president, but also provincial assemblies in each of the country's nine provinces.
The pro-business Democratic Alliance, which won the second-largest vote share in 2019, has formed an alliance with several smaller parties to try to broaden its appeal.
The party is running the rich province of the Western Cape, but hope to make a difference this year in the usually ANC strongholds of Gauteng and KwaZulu Natal.
If the ANC wins the largest share of the vote, its current leader Ramaphosa is likely to remain president, but he could also face an internal challenge, if the party's performance is worse than expected.
"A new system with tiers of governance between local, provincial and national powers is coming about," Gareth Stevens, vice-chancellor of the University of Witwatersrand, told me. "It’s a challenge but also a potential for positive change.”
The election commission (IEC) has seven days to announce final results.
It is expected to start releasing partial results within hours of polling stations closing, but this year counting might take more time if the turnout is higher and the results tighter.
The IEC expect first partial results to be announced from Thursday.
(with Reuters)
No comments:
Post a Comment