(3 minutes read)
- ANC party of South Africa has suffered big decline in the vote share in the recent municipal elections
- It got less than 50% of ballots cast in local government elections and could garner only 46.04% of the vote
- It is the worst result for Nelson Mandela’s historic party
- The party has won every election by an absolute majority earlier times since 1994 when the first democratic elections were held.
The ANC party of South Africa has suffered a big decline in the vote share in the recent municipal elections. It got less than 50% of ballots cast in local government elections and could garner only 46.04% of the vote. It is the worst result for Nelson Mandela’s historic party. The party has won every election by an absolute majority earlier times since 1994 when the first democratic elections were held.
The number of people who refused to cast votes also went up although the voting day was declared as a holiday. Voters’ turnout was 47% of registered voters. It turned out to be less than 10% compared to the previous elections. Yet, of the 213 local councils, the ruling party came out on top in 161 of them.
Many, particularly the younger generation, are disenchanted wit the party. They try to attribute the large erosion of the voting percentage of the ruling party to perpetration of corruption and mismanagement. This has left public services in disrepair. Power cuts and erratic water supplies are normal occurrences rather than exceptions.
In July, South Africa faced a wave of rioting and looting in Johannesburg and the eastern province of Kwazulu-Natal. This had left more than 350 people dead. Though the violence was initially due to the imprisonment of former president Jacob Zuma, who was convicted of contempt of court, it was also a sign of the tense social and economic climate.
