South Africa Heading Towards Coalition For First Time Since End Apartheid

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

CAPE TOWN (Worthy News) – South Africa was heading towards a national coalition government for the first time since the late Nelson Mandela led the nation to government in the historic 1994 election that ended apartheid, election results suggest.

While the longtime ruling African National Congress (ANC) received most ballots, it is falling short of a majority amid an outcry over corruption, crime, unemployment, and a lack of access to electricity.

With the most votes counted, the Democratic Alliance was second, while former President Jacob Zuma’s new breakaway uMkhonto we Sizwe Party (MK Party) was third, making significant gains at the expense of the country’s governing ANC.

The results came in after millions of citizens cast their votes, with long lines outside polling stations late into the night. It was reminiscent of that vote 30 years ago that set the ground for a South Africa without apartheid.

Initially, the country, often described as the “Rainbow Nation,” became a model for peace and reconciliation with people of different colors and cultural backgrounds working on a new future.

But 30 years later, the moral high ground on which the ANC took power was sorely tested, with officials accused of high levels of corruption and the country beleaguered by soaring crime and other social ills.

MANY PARTIES

A record number of parties and 11 independents were running, with South Africans voting for a new parliament and nine provincial legislatures.

At least some were optimistic that the rise of new parties offered the potential for fresh leadership and innovative solutions.

And church officials noticed that voters punished the long-ruling ANC but had mixed feelings about the outcome.

Russell Pollitt, a priest heading the Jesuit Institute in Johannesburg, said the ANC “is set to lose their majority in South Africa – one they held since the dawn of democracy.”

However, “Disappointingly for us though, South Africans have punished the ANC for its disastrous leadership since 2009 by voting for a party led by the man who was ANC president in 2009, former corruption-charged president Jacob Zuma.”

Pollitt also noticed that voters chose another party – the EFF – “led by [Zuma’s] closest ally, Julius Malema.”

Yet, as the results came in, it was time for new parties to take at least some governing responsibilities as the nation longs for a more peaceful era.

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