JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africans voted Wednesday at schools, community centers, and in large white tents set up in open fields in an election seen as their...
JOHANNESBURG — South Africa ns voted Wednesday at schools, community centers, and in large white tents set up in open fieldsseen as their country’s most important since apartheid ended 30 years ago. It could put the young democracy into unknown territory.and to democracy in 1994. It is now the target of a new generation of discontent in a country of 62 million people — half of whom are estimated to be living in poverty.
The 71-year-old Ramaphosa sat alongside other voters in Soweto, where he was born and which was once the center of the resistance to apartheid. He shook hands with two smiling officials who registered him before voting. That's largely because disgruntled South Africans are moving to an array of opposition parties; more than 50 will contest the national election, many of them new. One is led by South Africa’s former President Jacob Zuma, who has, said South Africa was now heading to “coalition country." He conceded his party probably wouldn’t gain a majority, but put faith in a preelection agreement with other smaller parties to combine their vote to remove the ANC.
Ramaphosa has pointed out how South Africa is a far better country now than under apartheid, when Black people were barred from voting, weren’t allowed to move around freely, had to live in certain areas and were oppressed in every way. This election is only South Africa's seventh national vote in which people of all races are allowed to take part.in 1994, still frame much of everyday South Africa. But fewer remember it as time goes on, and this election might give voice to a new generation.
Voting was due to start at 7 a.m. and end at 9 p.m. . The independent electoral commission that runs the election said there were some problems with stations opening on time but they were minor. South Africa has held peaceful and credible elections since a violent buildup to the pivotal 1994 election. Nearly 3,000 soldiers will be deployed across the country to ensure everything is orderly, authorities said.
South Africa South Africans African National Congress Vote Apartheid National Election
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
South Africans vote in most competitive election since end of apartheidOpinion polls are suggesting the African National Congress could lose its parliamentary majority after 30 years in government
Read more »
Rand on Razor’s Edge as South Africans Vote in Pivotal Poll(Bloomberg) -- The rand will be one of the few South African assets trading through the country’s general election Wednesday, as investor optimism that drove...
Read more »
Rand on Razor’s Edge as South Africans Vote in Pivotal ElectionThe rand will be one of the few South African assets trading through the country’s general election Wednesday, as investor optimism that drove a five-week rally gives way to caution over the risk of a surprise outcome.
Read more »
South Africans start voting in election that could see ANC lose majorityExplore stories from Atlantic Canada.
Read more »
South Africans start voting in election that could see ANC lose majorityExplore stories from Atlantic Canada.
Read more »
South Africans vote in most competitive election since end of apartheidExplore stories from Atlantic Canada.
Read more »