ANC No Longer Assured of Victory in South Africa
Emmanuel Matambo
In some quarters , the ANC has become so unpopular that associating with it might be costly for some political players
Photo from Flickr / ANC
On 1 November 2021 , South Africa held its local government elections . For the last few years , the African National Congress ( ANC ), South Africa ’ s ruling party since 1994 , has been taking the brunt of frustration for corruption , persistent poverty and a raft of other challenges , such as unemployment and social inequalities . Despite these troubles , the party has always been confident of victory at the polls . In fact , the ANC had become so complacent and entitled to electoral victory that some of its leaders have asserted that the party will rule South Africa until the return of Jesus Christ . However , the current voting patterns , voter turnout , and frustrations with the political system and leaders demonstrate that the ruling party can no longer take victory for granted .
Those who think that the ANC will rule forever might want to look at the 2019 General Elections and the 2021 municipal elections as a reality check . Even before one talks about the results and how participants fared , the dwindling turnout of voters is a troubling reality . In the 2016 municipal elections , voter turnout was 57.94 %, which reduced to 45.71 % in the 2021 elections . A number of reasons could be adduced for this . In 2021 , one might be tempted to attribute this low turnout to how COVID-19 has affected people ’ s lives and movement . In South Africa ’ s case , however , this argument does not currently go far because movement is no longer restricted during the day .
A more fundamental reason , one that indicts the South African
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