Voters cast their ballots by candle light during previous elections in Cape Town, South Africa.
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As South Africa heads towards elections, there is no quick fix solution to the electricity crisis in the country. What exactly are the political parties promising voters?
Supporters of the opposition EFF carry a mock coffin bearing the face of the President Cyril Ramaphosa, leader of the ruling ANC.
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ANC and EFF differ on ideology and policy – an alliance between them would prove difficult to put together and made to work.
Abstention in the 2021 local government election was largely driven by a combination of individual and administrative barriers.
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The South African electorate is becoming less tied to race and identity-based voting but are increasingly making a wider evaluation of the performance of political incumbents.
Mxolisi Kaunda mayor of eThekwini. If parties or individuals succeed in the politics and practicalities of governing a metro, the rewards are considerable.
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Metros may be a graveyard for political ambition. But if parties or individuals succeed, the rewards are considerable.
Some political parties, including the Economic Freedom Fighters, want municipal elections postponed because they can’t host campaign rallies.
EFE-EPA/Kim Ludbrook
It’s not convincing to argue that the political parties would not be able to campaign as they have done in the past.
Failure to campaign due to COVID-19 has fuelled calls to synchronise polls.
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The bigger parties which contest elections at all three levels would benefit the most – but voters might split their votes.
Ugandan opposition politician Bobi Wine takes a selfie with Zimbabwe’s opposition leader Nelson Chamisa
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Bobi Wine in Uganda does it; so do the Economic Freedom Fighters in South Africa. The red beret is worn to signify the revolutionary. Its power lies in a symbolism that combines art and politics.
South Africans who receive welfare grants vote for the governing African National Congress more than any other party.
EPA-EFE/Kim Ludbrook
The survey findings show that people who had taken part in protests over the last five years were more likely to vote for opposition parties.
Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema at an election rally.
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The EFF’s militarised aesthetic is more than a sideshow. It forms a key part of its spectacle-oriented brand of politics.
None of South Africa’s political parties are offering middle class black people a home.
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The black middle class are angry at their exclusion from mainstream economic activity.
African National Congress supporters at the party’s manifesto launch.
Epa/Kim Ludbrook
South Africa has the world’s largest white minority living under black rule.Colour line tensions might remain a feature of the country’s political landscape.
A man challenges police during a protest in Eldorado Park, Johannesburg.
EPA-EFE/Kim Ludbrook
To claim that protests are being organised suggests sinister motives. But all protest is organised. So are cake sales and shopping expeditions.
Mmusi Maimane, leader of South Africa’s main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, on the campaign trail.
EFE-EPA /Kim Ludbrook
There is a huge divide between what is important right now and what the election is likely to be about.
Villagers till their fields in South Africa’s North West Province. Access to land for small holder farmers remains unresolved.
Epa/Jon Hrusa
Land reform programme has done very little to improve access to land for black South Africans.
South Africans head to the polls in May 2019 but there are challenges.
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South Africa’s electoral commission’s failure to ensure a credible voters’ roll threatens to undo its legacy of free and fair elections.
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The push to nationalise South Africa’s Reserve Bank is informed by the mistaken view that private shareholders affect monetary policy.
Protesters from the MDC-Alliance march in Harare demanding electoral reforms.
EPA-EFE/Aaron Ufumeli
Zimbabwe’s upcoming elections potentially marks the start of a new order in the country, where the stakes are extremely high.
Nelson Mandela embodied South Africa’s long, arduous journey to freedom and equality.
UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe
Nelson Mandela’s centenary celebrations provide a chance to debunk the lie that he sold out black South Africans.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
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ANC renewal and the war on corruption is one thing. But transforming the character of the South African political economy is quite another.
South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, is on a mission to rebuild a battered party and state.
EPA/Nic Bothma
South Africa’s new president, Cyril Ramaphosa, has done well so far but more challenges relating to reigniting the economy lie ahead.