A look at negative sentiments among black citizens shows that they’re mostly unhappy with the ANC, especially in the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality, while those in the City of Cape Town and Johannesburg are mostly unhappy with the DA.
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“Maybe if we vote for other parties, there’ll be some change that we’ll see”, said Nozizwe Ndlovu, a 35-year-old unemployed mother of three in the White City township in Soweto, southwest of Johannesburg.
“The way the opposition parties have carried out their campaigns and the way the ANC has responded, show the vote will be a referendum on Zuma and the performance of his government on the national economy as well as the local level”, BNP Paribas Securities South Africa political analyst Nic Borain said.
President Jacob Zuma says South Africa is ready for the 2016 local government elections and he is confident that the country will do very well. South Africans are voti. “Millions of our people must vote ANC on the day, and then able their movements to continue improving the lives of our people”, President Zuma said.
Many supporters are switching allegiances to the main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA), bolstering its attempts to attract black voters and shake off its image of a party that chiefly serves the interests of the minority white community. “There’s no doubt that President Zuma is the most important recruitment machine for the Democratic Alliance and the Economic Freedom Fighters party”, she said. If they gain enough votes, they could form a coalition to oust the ANC in some cities. The margin is much narrower in Johannesburg, where the DA now has a slight lead (with 36% support vs. 32% for the ANC).
Key races to watch include Johannesburg, the Tshwane metro area (which includes Pretoria) and Nelson Mandela Bay.
Over 26 million people are registered to vote and opposition parties are hoping to use the election to push for a change after years of dominance from the ANC.
But recent weekly surveys published by market researcher Ipsos have consistently polled the DA ahead of the ANC as the party of choice in four of the country’s eight major metropolitan areas (metros).
“The ANC and its associated unions no longer care about us”, said Vukile Jebese, 41, who works underground.
The party had knocked on thousands of doors, he said, and had heard people’s dissatisfaction and what it meant to South Africans to “advance people’s power”.
For example, according to United Nations, the percentage of the population with access to at least basic sanitation increased to 79.5 percent in 2014 from 62.3 percent in 2002.
The protest vote has gathered momentum because of corruption and ineffectual leadership, he adds, with scandals pointing to Zuma for over a decade, along with corporate favoritism and nepotism eroding ANC’s reputation.
Economic Freedom Fighters leader, Julius Malema talks to the press after being ordered out of Parliament.
“Local elections are normally uninteresting”.
DA is leading in three major metropolitan areas, a situation unheard of only two years ago.
Municipal election results will have no direct bearing on the ANC’s hold on national power.
Problem The problem for the ANC is that the DA has proven in the Western Cape Province that it runs better municipalities than the ruling party.
Jordaan and other ANC candidates will be relying on the fiercely loyal support base it still retains due to its central role in ending apartheid and its association with Mandela. “I’ve been waiting [for a house] since 2009 and if the new mayor comes it will start afresh”, she said.
“They can campaign saying nice things, but whites treated us badly during apartheid”. “There was no Nkandla when we supported him”.
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The ANC has easily won all post-apartheid elections, but its rivals hope this week’s vote could shake its previously impregnable hold on power.
