Post by Foggy on May 7, 2019 3:01:42 GMT
The Rainbow Nation goes to the polls tomorrow. Can it live up to the high ideals it set itself under the 1996 constitution?
President and former trade unionist-cum-communist turned shill for Coca-Cola and Unilever, Cyril Ramaphosa of the Venda tribe, took over from Jacob Zuma 15 months ago, having become leader of the ANC in late 2017, and is running for re-election. His principal challenger is Mmusi Maimane, of both Tswana and Xhosa origin, from the Democratic Alliance. Both originated in the areas of Gauteng around Johannesburg that were previously part of Transvaal.
Ramaphosa is 66 years old and a leading veteran of the anti-apartheid protests who all want their turn with the Presidency. Maimane, in contrast, is only 38 years old and thus carries much less baggage from that era. He has risen rapidly up the ranks over the past 8 years via first municipal politics, then through a brief flirtation with trying in vain to become Premier of his home province in 2014. He got close enough to winning to make a big impression on the national party, and became their leader and declared presidential candidate a year later.
One poll last month suggested the ANC could fall below 50% of the vote (although only just, and they'd still probably eke out an absolute majority of the seats). I'll believe it when I see it. If anything, the ANC should at least dip well below the 62.2% they won last time.
Beyond the two largest parties, there is an alphabet soup of – in effect – testimonial options on the ballot paper which appeal to different narrow sections of the electorate. The system does not discourage them. Five years ago, the threshold in practice for representation was just 0.17% or around 30,000 votes.
All nine provincial assemblies will be elected simultaneously. South Africa is not truly as decentralised as it claims to be, so these appear to have very little power. Only one province has its own flag, and when another tried to assert its autonomy a bit too much, some of its legislation was struck down in the national courts.
President and former trade unionist-cum-communist turned shill for Coca-Cola and Unilever, Cyril Ramaphosa of the Venda tribe, took over from Jacob Zuma 15 months ago, having become leader of the ANC in late 2017, and is running for re-election. His principal challenger is Mmusi Maimane, of both Tswana and Xhosa origin, from the Democratic Alliance. Both originated in the areas of Gauteng around Johannesburg that were previously part of Transvaal.
Ramaphosa is 66 years old and a leading veteran of the anti-apartheid protests who all want their turn with the Presidency. Maimane, in contrast, is only 38 years old and thus carries much less baggage from that era. He has risen rapidly up the ranks over the past 8 years via first municipal politics, then through a brief flirtation with trying in vain to become Premier of his home province in 2014. He got close enough to winning to make a big impression on the national party, and became their leader and declared presidential candidate a year later.
One poll last month suggested the ANC could fall below 50% of the vote (although only just, and they'd still probably eke out an absolute majority of the seats). I'll believe it when I see it. If anything, the ANC should at least dip well below the 62.2% they won last time.
Beyond the two largest parties, there is an alphabet soup of – in effect – testimonial options on the ballot paper which appeal to different narrow sections of the electorate. The system does not discourage them. Five years ago, the threshold in practice for representation was just 0.17% or around 30,000 votes.
All nine provincial assemblies will be elected simultaneously. South Africa is not truly as decentralised as it claims to be, so these appear to have very little power. Only one province has its own flag, and when another tried to assert its autonomy a bit too much, some of its legislation was struck down in the national courts.
