African National Congress president Cyril Ramaphosa, centre, and fellow party national executive members.
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Political parties must show ideological flexibility to foster stability and drive South Africa towards prosperity through creative policy solutions.
White voters are the most loyal to one party among the South African electorate.
Racial identities continue to shape voter behaviour in post-apartheid South Africa.
South Africans protesting against power cuts.
Photo by Ihsaan Haffejee/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Solutions driven by the private sector are only for those who can pay, and also end up driving public priorities.
South African foreign minister Naledi Pandor addresses the media outside the ICJ at The Hague.
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The country will see more foreign policy continuity if the ANC partners with smaller parties that share its world view.
South Africans in the UK and other foreign countries voted ahead of the polls opening at home.
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The growing loss of support for the governing ANC raises the possibility of South Africa having its first national coalition government since 1994.
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?
The Economic Freedom Fighters marked its 10th anniversary at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg on 29 July 2023.
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Opinions differ widely about the true character of the EFF and what it really stands for since it gained seats in parliament in 2014.
President Cyril Ramaphosa congratulates the new leaders of the ANC in the Western Cape.
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The 2024 general elections will show to what extent the new provincial leadership can start to turn around the ANC’s fortunes in the Western Cape.
The African National Congress has lost electoral support but remains dominant.
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Dissatisfied ANC voters were much more likely to switch their votes if they held positive views of an opposition party. However, the problem for the opposition is that few people held these views.
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.
Pastors pray for former South African president and ANC leader Jacob Zuma.
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Perhaps the combination of religious rhetoric and secular laws is a winning electoral strategy.
Mpho Phalatse was toppled as mayor of Johannesburg following a no-confidence vote in September. A high court reinstated her.
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In South Africa coalitions are weaponised as extensions of elections.
Members of shack-dwellers movement, Abahlali baseMjondolo protest the alleged theft of COVID-19 funds in Durban, South Africa.
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Extra-parliamentary politics forms part of a deeper defence that will give democracy more resilience in South Africa.
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.
South Africans queue to vote in the 2021 local government elections in Centurion, Tshwane, Pretoria.
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The election results raise the real possibility that the ANC could be looking at another defeat in the 2024 general elections.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on the campaign trail.
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Turnout was low. But not equally so across the board. Patterns show it was not a statement by all voters – it was a message from ANC supporters.
The Economic Freedom Fighters’s campaign emphasises national issues.
EFE-EPA/Nic Bothma
The 2021 election will define for citizens important aspects of South Africa’s political future. What is the governing ANC’s future, and what was the impact of President Ramaphosa on this election?
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The rise in political parties and the explosion in the number of independents means that it’s no longer simply a race among the three major parties.
The Democratic Alliance has been accused of inflaming racial tensions in Phoenix. Local residents belonging to a protection group stand watch in July 2021 at the height of the violence.
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The Democratic Alliance posters were not a bolt from the blue. They were consistent with messages the party’s current leadership has been sending out for some time.