The ANC is almost certain to win Wednesday’s national vote. But its margin of victory will help decide whether President Cyril Ramaphosa can move ahead with his much-touted efforts to tackle the corruption scandals that have dogged the ANC for more than a decade
A woman casts her vote for the general elections at the Presbyterian Church ballot station in Dobsonville, Johannesburg, on May 8, 2019. South Africans began voting today in national elections which the ruling ANC, in power since 1994, is favourite to win despite corruption scandals, sluggish economic growth and record unemployment. The ANC has won all the past five elections, but today's vote is set to be an electoral test on whether the party has staunched a decline in popularity.
Voting stations close at 9 p.m. local time, and early results are expected overnight or Thursday morning.Opinion polls in the final days of the campaign have suggested that the ANC will get between 53 per cent and 62 per cent of the vote. Support for the ANC fell from 66 per cent to 62 per cent in the last election in 2014, and most analysts are expecting a further decline this time.
People queue outside Marikana Primary School to cast their votes during South Africa's national and provincial elections on May 8, 2019.If the ANC wins a clear victory in Wednesday’s election, it could strengthen Mr. Ramaphosa’s hand in the factional battles, allowing him to push ahead with his anti-corruption campaign. It would also boost South Africa’s stock market and currency, since investors see Mr. Ramaphosa as a market-friendly leader of the ANC’s liberal faction.
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