ANC Faces Uphill Battle in South Africa’s Seventh Democratic Election

South Africa is set to hold its seventh fully democratic election on May 29 as the ruling African National Congress (ANC) faces challenges such as record unemployment, an electricity crisis causing blackouts, and widespread voter mistrust.

The ANC, once admired globally, is expected to lose its majority for the first time since winning the country’s first all-race election in 1994. If the ANC loses its majority, it will need to form a coalition to remain in power and retain President Cyril Ramaphosa for a second and final five-year term.

South Africans vote for a party rather than a presidential candidate in a general election, with parties allocated places in the 400-seat Parliament according to their share of the vote.

The ANC is still expected to win the largest share of the vote, but one poll has it falling dramatically to less than 40%. The Democratic Alliance, the main opposition party, is in talks to form a coalition to force the ANC out of government completely. The far-left Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has drawn more support away from the ANC and is the only party to increase its share in the last general election.

The ANC has won every national election since 1994 by a clear majority, but its support has gradually waned in the last 20 years. South Africans have grown weary of a troubled economy, high unemployment rates, and rising levels of violent crime and poverty. Ramaphosa’s popularity has been hurt by the electricity crisis that brought record levels of blackouts last year.