Johannesburg: South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) has taken an early lead in the general elections, first polls since the death of Nelson Mandela who was elected as first president in 1994 after the end of the apartheid regime.
Counting started soon after the voting ended peacefully early on Thursday in the fifth all-race polls that are expected to return President Jacob Zuma-led ANC to power. With 20 per cent of votes counted, the ANC had almost 56 per cent of the vote followed by the Democratic Alliance on 31 per cent and Economic Freedom Fighters on 3.9 per cent.
The elections are the first since the death of Nelson Mandela – the country’s first black president – in December and mark 20 years since the end of apartheid rule. About 25 million registered voters – roughly half the population – trickled into some 22,263 polling centres across the country to vote in the first elections on Wednesday in which the ‘Born Frees’ – people born in a democratic South Africa – exercised their franchise. Turnout was just over 72 per cent. Under the proportional representation system, South Africans voted for parties, and not candidates, in two simultaneous ballots for national and provincial governments.
The first result for the constituency of Mount Ayliff in Eastern Cape Province showed the ANC getting 148 votes, the main opposition party Democratic Alliance three and the Economic Freedom Fighters of Julius Malema, expelled former ANC Youth League leader, got five.
The ANC is expected to win more than 60 per cent of the vote, even as its campaign has been hit by concern over economic problems such as high unemployment and a number of corruption scandals.
With a record number of 29 parties contesting the polls, opposition to the ANC is hugely fragmented, with some analysts touting EFF as the dark horse which could take away some of the seats that might have been won by the DA. (Agencies)
