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| South Africa's local elections pose crucial test for ruling ANC | South Africa's local elections pose crucial test for ruling ANC |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| South African voters are going to the polls for municipal elections that pose the first real challenge to the ruling African National Congress party since it swept to power following the end of apartheid. | |
| A feeble economy, unemployment rates of 26% and corruption scandals that have dogged the president, Jacob Zuma, have all eroded the appeal of the once unbeatable party of anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela. | A feeble economy, unemployment rates of 26% and corruption scandals that have dogged the president, Jacob Zuma, have all eroded the appeal of the once unbeatable party of anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela. |
| Polls before Wednesday’s elections suggested the party could lose control of three of South Africa’s main cities, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth and the greater metropolitan area around the capital Pretoria. | Polls before Wednesday’s elections suggested the party could lose control of three of South Africa’s main cities, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth and the greater metropolitan area around the capital Pretoria. |
| Those areas alone are home to more than 8 million people, and bring influence over annual budgets of about $10bn (£7.5bn). | |
| Related: Breaking the mould? South Africa at a crossroads as country goes to polls | Related: Breaking the mould? South Africa at a crossroads as country goes to polls |
| Beyond the loss of financial and political power, a defeat at the polls would be a profound psychological shock to many in the party, who believe that its leadership of the decades-long struggle against apartheid has given it a permanent mandate to rule. | |
| The ANC’s secretary-general, Gwede Mantashe, recently told supporters that the party had been “anointed by God”, and compared its past leaders to biblical figures. | The ANC’s secretary-general, Gwede Mantashe, recently told supporters that the party had been “anointed by God”, and compared its past leaders to biblical figures. |
| Its main rival is the Democratic Alliance, once seen as a party of liberal, middle-class whites, now for the first time running under a black leader, Mmusi Maimane. It already controls Cape Town, where it has a reputation for competent management, and is hoping to expand its powerbase before national elections in 2019. | |
| The DA has promised to liberalise the economy to stimulate growth in a country that has stagnated since the 2008 financial crisis, cutting red tape and making it easier to hire and fire workers. | The DA has promised to liberalise the economy to stimulate growth in a country that has stagnated since the 2008 financial crisis, cutting red tape and making it easier to hire and fire workers. |
| Related: Soweto uprising 40 years on: the image that shocked the world | Related: Soweto uprising 40 years on: the image that shocked the world |
| The ANC also faces a new challenge from the Economic Freedom Fighters, a party with a more radical agenda led by ex-ANC firebrand Julius Malema. It is standing for the first time in local elections on a platform that includes promises to nationalise mines and redistribute land without compensation. | The ANC also faces a new challenge from the Economic Freedom Fighters, a party with a more radical agenda led by ex-ANC firebrand Julius Malema. It is standing for the first time in local elections on a platform that includes promises to nationalise mines and redistribute land without compensation. |
| If the ANC performs badly on Wednesday, it may put pressure on Zuma to step down before his term officially ends in 2019. He has already faced calls to resign, including after a recent court finding that he spent government money on improvements to his private home. | If the ANC performs badly on Wednesday, it may put pressure on Zuma to step down before his term officially ends in 2019. He has already faced calls to resign, including after a recent court finding that he spent government money on improvements to his private home. |
| The constitutional court ordered him to repay more than half a million dollars to the state. Critics also say he has been too close to a wealthy business family of Indian origin, with several senior politicians alleging that the Guptas were involved in senior cabinet appointments. | |
| Many South Africans hope that even if the ANC does manage to scrape back to power in most of the country, the very real threat of defeat might serve as a push for cleaner and more effective rule. | Many South Africans hope that even if the ANC does manage to scrape back to power in most of the country, the very real threat of defeat might serve as a push for cleaner and more effective rule. |
| “We are now entering an era where you cannot predict the outcome of the elections. This never used to be the case,” Prince Mashele, of the Pretoria-based Centre for Politics and Research, told AFP. | |
| “There is an element of unpredictability [that may] inject an element of accountability in the political system … We are dealing with a situation of an angry electorate.” | |
| Polling stations close at 7pm local time, but results will not start coming in until the early hours of Thursday, with the preliminary totals expected about 24 hours after polling stations close. | |
| The campaign has been marred by violence, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal, an ANC stronghold where several activists and candidates have been attacked or murdered, and others have gone into hiding. The police have created a special taskforce to investigate the attacks. |