South Africa Heads to Polls Amid Predictions of ANC Losing Majority

Millions of South Africans are voting to elect a new National Assembly and provincial legislatures, with predictions indicating the ANC may lose its majority for the first time since Nelson Mandela's election in 1994. Despite widespread dissatisfaction, President Ramaphosa remains confident his party will return to power.

Millions of South Africans are voting on Wednesday to elect a new National Assembly as well as the provincial legislatures, amid predictions that the President Cyril Ramaphosa-led African National Congress could lose its majority for the first time since Nelson Mandela was elected 30 years ago.

The polling stations opened at 7 am (local time) and will close at 9 pm. Final results are expected by Sunday.

President Ramaphosa, 71, remained confident that his party would return to power in the election, which is the most hotly contested since Mandela was elected as the country's first democratic president in 1994.

''The people of South Africa will give the ANC, as they vote today, a firm majority. So, in my mind, in my head and in my thought processes, there isn't even a doubt about that,'' Ramaphosa said in a brief interaction with the media after he cast his vote in the huge township of Soweto, created during the apartheid era to forcibly resettle the majority Black community of the region.

The predictions of the ANC losing its majority came amid widespread public dissatisfaction with the corruption at all levels of government which has led to poor service delivery, including rolling electricity blackouts for several years and a breakdown of rail and road transport infrastructure, especially at municipal level.

Ramaphosa said the ANC under his leadership ran a formidable campaign and the party workers went through the length and the breadth of the country to reach out to people and to also make those who may have been doubtful about voting to be encouraged to vote.

''We were rather pleased that we saw more and more young people registering to vote and we kept on urging the people of our country that we want to run a clean campaign, which we did, and we are determined to ensure that democracy is the winner in this whole election. So, in the end, it is the democratic process in our country that is going to emerge victorious and the ANC will reap the dividend from that by emerging as the winning party," Ramaphosa said.

More than half of the 26 million registered voters are below the age of 35, most born after 1994, although there was still some level of concern among analysts about them coming out to polling booths today.

Analysts have widely predicted that the ANC, which has been the ruling party since 1994, is likely to lose its majority and may have to enter into a coalition government after the polls.

There are 52 political parties, and for the first time, scores of independent candidates contesting the national and provincial elections. On Wednesday, Ramaphosa reiterated his concern about incidents where people had attempted to intimidate election officials or interfered with delivery to stations of ballot papers over the past few days.

"We are concerned about the incidents that have been reported, where the IEC has raised its concerns. But also, one incident where the police also had to intervene by arresting those who were interfering in the work of the IEC (which is) sacrosanct).

''It should never be interfered with because when you interfere with the work of the IEC you are really interfering with our democracy. You are trying to subvert the will of the people of South Africa (which should) never be obstructed (or) interfered with in any way whatsoever," Ramaphosa said.

"So, we are concerned and we once again call on all South Africans, particularly on this day and the next few days coming, when the results will be counted before they are announced, that all of us must abide by the prescripts of our electoral law and our Constitution as well,'' he said.

Ramaphosa said he had full confidence in South Africa's security officers throughout the country to ensure that those who "seek to embark on ways that will disrupt our election will be dealt with severely." Former President Jacob Zuma is barred from running for parliament because of a contempt of court conviction, but his name is on the ballot paper.

International observers from the African Union have also expressed their confidence in the election process rolled out by the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa.

There are over 190 international observers at the various polling stations across the country.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)