What are the Stakes in the May 29 South Africa's Presidential Election

Cape Town,South Africa-South Africa is poised on the brink of a historic electoral shift as the African National Congress (ANC), the party that has led the nation since the end of apartheid 30 years ago, faces its toughest challenge yet.

As the country heads to the polls on May 29, the ANC, under President Cyril Ramaphosa, struggles to maintain its parliamentary majority amid widespread dissatisfaction with its governance.

Despite its iconic status as the party of Nelson Mandela, the ANC's popularity has waned, with opinion polls suggesting it might receive less than 50% of the national vote for the first time.

This decline is not attributed to a rise of a single opposition party to challenge the ANC’s dominance but rather to a fragmentation of voter support among a variety of opposition parties.

This scenario means that while the ANC may still obtain the largest share of votes, it will likely need to form a coalition to stay in government and secure a second term for 71-year-old Ramaphosa.

This election marks only the seventh fully democratic national election in South Africa since the dismantling of apartheid.

With 70 political parties registered—more than ever before—and independents standing for election, the political landscape is notably diverse.

The main opposition, the centrist Democratic Alliance (DA), and the far-left Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), led by the charismatic Julius Malema, are significant players but have not dramatically increased in popularity according to polls.

Key issues driving the election include the world’s highest unemployment rate at 32%, widespread poverty affecting over half the population, persistent violent crime, rampant government corruption, failing basic services, and ongoing electricity crises that have led to regular national blackouts.

These issues underscore the stark contradictions in a country known as Africa’s most advanced yet plagued by profound social and economic challenges.

The ANC’s diminished appeal is largely due to dissatisfaction with its failure to sufficiently improve the lives of the poor Black majority three decades after apartheid.

As South Africans cast their votes, they do so in a climate of heightened expectation and uncertainty, with the potential for the election to reshape the nation’s political order and address its deep-seated issues.