The South African parliamentary elections are held on Wednesday 22 April.
Although it is expected that the ANC will win easily, the focus will be in whether their support has dwindled and whether they will be able to get 2/3’rds majority so they can change the Constitution on their own.
With all corruption charges dropped against Jacob Zuma, there will always remain a stigma to his candidature.
This will be the first time that the new COPE party (a major split-off from the ANC) will stand in elections. COPE came into being in November 2008 by supporters of previous President Thabo Mbeki that are anti-Zuma supporters.
The final result of the elections will depend on how the rural people vote. If they vote in droves, the ANC will retain most of their power. If they don’t vote, the ANC can expect a severe drop in parliamentary seats. COPE caters more for the old ANC supporters with average to higher income.
i was surprised to see Nelson Mandela wearing a Jacob Zuma t-shirt, endorsing him. My understanding was that Zuma is somewhat of a compromised figure. Does he really merit an endorsement from Mandela?
Ravage, Nelson Mandela will support the ANC no matter what they do. I believe he is manipulated by the Zuma supporters.
Anyway, all did go off well and it seems as if a high percentage will be realized. Might mean bad things for the country or that the breakaway party, COPE, did better than expected. Lot's of previous ANC supporters indicated to me that they would not vote this elections as they don't feel to vote for anyone other than the ANC and they can't vote for the ANC because they don't rule well and deliver on promises.
The ANC received 65% of the vote which is less than their target of 2/3'rds with which they could change the Constitution. They also lost one of the 9 provinces to the opposition and received 5% less of the total votes than previous election.
Big debate as to which of Zuma's wifes will be his stateslady and whether he will in future continue dancing in a leopard skin during traditional meetings.
Focus politically has now shifted to who Zuma will appoint in his cabinet. Possible strange choices as he will have to thank some people who helped in the election win.