South Africans head to the polls in May 2019 but there are challenges.
Niyazz/Shutterstock
South Africa’s electoral commission’s failure to ensure a credible voters’ roll threatens to undo its legacy of free and fair elections.
Umkhonto weSizwe founder Nelson Mandela, receives military training at an Algerian FLN camp in Morocco, 1962.
South African History Online
The Algerian revolution had a profound effect on both Mandela and Fanon’s thinking about colonisation, oppression and freedom.
South Africa’s Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng.
EFE-EPA/Mike Hutchings
South Africa’s Constitutional Court has performed remarkably well in protecting democracy since 1995.
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa faces the daunting task of fighting corruption and winning votes for his party.
GCIS
Polls indicate that South Africans are unlikely to totally abandon the African National Congress.
Voters line up in South Africa’s last election. Their concerns are shifting.
EFE-EPA/Kim Ludbrook
South African voters are worried about how their country is being run. Most still support the ANC but in far fewer numbers.
A London bus displays anti-apartheid message at the height of South Africa’s isolation.
Flickr/rahuldlucca
As South Africa became an international pariah, it began working in shady ways through even more shady operators, including getting arms from the Soviet Union and China.
South African president Cyril Ramaphosa addresses a recent investment summit.
Flickr.com/GovernmentZA
South Africa’s president has firmly thrown his weight behind the private sector. This could prove significant.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is now more popular than his governing party, the ANC.
EFE-EPA/Stringer
The ANC has lost so much support among its traditional voters it’s now forced to look beyond them to retain power.
Xenophobic attacks in South Africa have been a major concern for organisations working with migrants.
EFE-EPA/Kim Ludbrook
Widespread concerns about the levels of immigration in South Africa make the issue appeal to voters across the economic and racial spectrum.
A significant number of South Africans can’t find jobs and scrounge for a living on the sidelines of the economy.
Shutterstock
South Africa’s jobs summit failed to acknowledge fundamental issues in the approach to development and job creation.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, left, introduces the country’s new Finance Minister, Tito Mboweni, in Cape Town.
Phando Jikelo/African News Agency(ANA)
South Africa’s new finance minister comes with considerable skills and political finesse needed to steer the country out of its economic quagmire.
Cyril Ramaphosa’s economic stimulus package shows that he and his political allies are in charge of economic policy.
GCIS
Ramaphosa’s stimulus package is more interesting for what it says about the politics of economic decision making than for its likely impact on the economy.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa addressing the 13th Cosatu conference.
Sowetan/Thulani Mbele
Electoral support by trade union federation Cosatu has been a huge asset for South Africa’s governing ANC.
EPA-EFE/Cornell Tukiri
Two authors unpack the fragility of South Africa’s political parties and why democracy is a lifelong commitment.
Stigmatising and shaming ex-offenders hampers efforts to reintegrate them into society.
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Politicians’ knee jerk dismissal of an idea that could help rehabilitate ex-offenders is
unhelpful.
EPA-EFE/Nic Bothma
Troubles in South Africa’s coalition-led local governments are affecting accountability, governance stability and service delivery.
Mangosutho Buthelezi in parliament.
EPA/Mark Wessels
Mangosuthu Buthelezi carries extensive accountability for the sectarianism that characterised politics in South Africa before 1994.
Shutterstock
The push to nationalise South Africa’s Reserve Bank is informed by the mistaken view that private shareholders affect monetary policy.
Democratic Alliance leader, Mmusi Maimane is struggling to grow the party further.
EPA/Nic Bothma
South Africa’s official opposition, the Democratic Alliance needs to face its racial dilemmas.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is accused of pandering to Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini (right) and other traditional leaders.
GCIS
South Africa’s ruling party, the ANC , is mishandling the process leading towards land expropriation without compensation.