"ANC dominates S. Africa election" by Norimitsu Onishi and Alan Cowell | New York Times May 10, 2014
JOHANNESBURG — With counting virtually complete Friday after South Africa’s fifth all-race elections, results showed the African National Congress securing another big victory, even though the party fell short of its goal of a two-thirds majority.
The outcome seemed to show that, whatever misgivings South Africans might have about the President Jacob Zuma, many were still prepared to display their loyalty to the 102-year-old party that claimed victory over apartheid 20 years ago and cast itself for decades before that as their champion.
The Independent Electoral Commission said that, with the vote from almost 99 percent of districts counted, the ANC led with 62.2 percent.
That result was in keeping with projections that the party, mired in corruption scandals and headed by the unpopular Zuma, would shed a few percentage points compared with the last general election, in 2009, when it won 65.9 percent.
The figures mean that the party is assured of maintaining its commanding majority in the 400-seat Parliament, which formally appoints the president, effectively guaranteeing that Zuma, who has battled charges of corruption and rape in recent years, will win a second term.
The dominance of the ANC cloaked some important shifts. The Democratic Alliance, the second-biggest party in Parliament, seemed to have increased its share of the vote to around 22 percent from roughly 17 percent in 2009. The radical Economic Freedom Fighters, led by the populist Julius Malema, was coming in at just more than 6 percent, placing the group third, ahead of all other minority challengers.
Hand typed by force of necessity:
In two northern regions regarded as Malema's stronghold, the grouping ran a distant second to the ANC, ahead of the Democratic Alliance.
Malema sought to draw support from the country's many unemployed young unemployed young people, modeling himself on such figures as Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and Robert Mugabe in neighboring Zimbabwe, and promising a huge redistribution of wealth.
Also see: Mugabe's Birthday
He remains after the West tried to force him out years ago. Must be cooperating with their demands and running weapons in the region once again.
Africa land grabs imperil elephants
Former US rep. says he is in hiding in South Africa
You might want to walk about halfway with crazy(?) and corrupt Mel Reynolds there.
The near-complete results showed that more than 1 million South Africans were drawn to his message, voting for Malema and his red-bereted followers.
Some young South Africans -- the so-called born frees, who grew up with no exposure to apartheid -- were voting for the first time.
I think I see why this part was scrubbed considering who owns and controls the ma$$ media.
"A million votes," said Floyd Shivambu, an official in Malema's party, "is a great inspiration."
A projection by the South African Broadcasting Corp. said the results could yield 23 parliamentary seats for Malema's year-old party -- a more emphatic entry into the legislature than his critics, and even some of his followers, predicted.
--more--"
Sorry I missed the campaign, readers:
"South Africa celebrates Mandela, 20 years of democracy" Associated Press April 28, 2014
JOHANNESBURG — South Africa’s president urged voters to head to the polls next week in the spirit of ‘‘democracy and freedom’’ as he unveiled a large bronze bust of the country’s most famous antiapartheid leader, Nelson Mandela, in front of Parliament on Monday.
See: Resurrecting Mandela
***********
South Africans are celebrating 20 years of democracy, as Mandela’s election in 1994 ended decades of white-racist rule. Mandela died in December at the age of 95.
‘‘The unveiling of this bust confirms that our Parliament, which was once a symbol of white domination, has now been transformed into a progressive institution that upholds the values of unity, equality, freedom, and the dignity of all South Africans,’’ Zuma said.
Zuma’s comments came as a parliamentary committee investigating allegations of misspending by the president suspended its work so it can be tackled by the next Parliament.
The May 7 election is likely to see the ruling African National Congress return to power with a smaller majority than in the past, reflecting discontent with the movement that led the fight against apartheid.
South Africa boasts a widely admired constitution and an active civil society and the government has delivered housing, water, and electricity to millions since 1994, but a wide gap between rich and poor overshadows its many achievements.
But don't let that spoil the success story.
And if they can't get it right in South Africa.... sigh.
--more--"
"Weakened ANC is expected to win S. Africa elections" by Norimitsu Onishi | New York Times May 08, 2014
MARIKANA, South Africa — Voters cast ballots across South Africa on Wednesday after a long campaign season that betrayed the governing African National Congress party’s internal cracks, highlighted President Jacob G. Zuma’s deepening unpopularity, and hinted at a realignment of the nation’s politics in the years ahead.
Hours before voting began at 7 a.m., South Africans lined up by the hundreds at polling stations, less to choose from a long list of parties than to pronounce judgment on the ANC, the liberation movement that has governed since the end of apartheid in 1994 but has become mired in corruption scandals in recent years. If the polls prove correct, the ANC will steamroll to another victory, though with fewer votes than in the past.
And Obummer will have to work with a Repuglican Senate.
Here in Marikana, a platinum mining town where police killed 34 striking miners in 2012 in the most brutal display of force by the authorities in the postapartheid era, voters began lining up at 2 a.m. at the Marikana Combined School. By 7 a.m., the queue stretched out of the school grounds and snaked around a column of trees; most of the voters, some wearing sweaters and wool hats in the autumn chill, live in a nearby squatters’ camp of tin shacks.
See: South African Miners Strike
Last week, Zuma canceled a planned visit here at the last minute, a few days after protesters angry at the government’s handling of the strike and its aftermath burned down an ANC office. Many voters expressed dislike of the president but said they could not turn against the ANC, underscoring the party’s continuing strength even in places with the most disaffected residents.
“The government is not right, it is corrupt,” said Wandisile Sijawe, 35, an electrician at a mine who voted for the ANC, as he has his entire adult life. “The problem is with the president, not with the ANC. If the party makes a swap at the top, it will still be good. Zuma is not the ANC.”
The problems here are the parties.
The fifth general election in a democratic South Africa, it was the first time that the “born free” generation, made up of those born since 1994 with no direct experience of apartheid, was able to vote. It was also the first election since Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first black president and the party’s leader, died in December. The ANC and its allies used his memory to appeal to older voters.
“They took us from the darkness into the light — how could I vote for any other party?” said Nomanesi Zikolo, 45, a single mother of two, referring to the ANC’s role not only in liberating blacks but also in providing her home with electricity for the first time in 1999.
Many blacks in AmeriKa feel that way about Democrats.
Voting appeared to proceed peacefully, though amid a heavy police and military presence, in several poor black townships surrounding Johannesburg, where rioting youths, angry at living conditions, have held protests for months and tried to bar the ANC from their communities.
Say what? Globe hasn't paid much attention to those. You can see for yourself.
The main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, is expected to do better than in the 2009 election. Focusing on the need to create jobs, the Alliance has widened its appeal beyond its traditional core of white South Africans by drawing in middle-class blacks.
The former apartheid party.
Full official results are not expected before Friday or possibly Saturday.
--more--"
"ANC posts strong lead in balloting in S. Africa; Zuma’s scandals have slight effect" by Norimitsu Onishi | New York Times May 09, 2014
JOHANNESBURG — South Africa’s long-ruling African National Congress was headed to another big victory in national elections Thursday, though it appeared to fall short of President Jacob G. Zuma’s goal of a two-thirds majority, incomplete results showed.
The ANC led with 63 percent of the vote after nearly 83 percent of the ballots had been tallied, in keeping with projections that the party, mired in corruption scandals and headed by the unpopular Zuma, would shed a few percentage points off its share of the total this election. In the last general election, in 2009, it won 65.9 percent of the vote.
If the ANC’s lead holds until the final returns are tabulated Friday, Zuma, who has battled charges of corruption and rape in recent years, should easily earn a second term.
ANC officials, appearing on television throughout the day, seemed relieved. An overwhelming victory was never in doubt in what has effectively been a one-party state since the ANC, under Nelson Mandela, won South Africa’s first all-race election in 1994.
A rigged election?
But a less resounding victory, one falling below the psychologically important level of 60 percent, could have imperiled Zuma and caused much soul-searching within the party....
Hmmmm! They sure got the narrative out there soon enough.
The main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, was in second place with 22 percent, significantly more than the 17 percent it won in 2009. As the ANC’s share of the vote has been declining since peaking at 70 percent in 2004, the Democratic Alliance has steadily made gains by reaching beyond its core supporters of whites and South Africans of mixed race, who account for less than 20 percent of the population.
It's the party of elites and wealth!
--more--"
"Officials confirm victory of ANC
JOHANNESBURG — South Africa’s election commission has completed a vote count that confirms the ruling African National Congress as the winner but also shows the strengthening of prominent opposition groups, according to results Saturday. With all 22,000 voting districts counted, the African National Congress had 62.15 percent of the vote, several percentage points lower than its result in 2009 elections, the election commission said on its website (AP)."
Someone doesn't seem to like MAleMA, huh?
"Officials confirm victory of ANC
JOHANNESBURG — South Africa’s election commission has completed a vote count that confirms the ruling African National Congress as the winner but also shows the strengthening of prominent opposition groups, according to results Saturday. With all 22,000 voting districts counted, the African National Congress had 62.15 percent of the vote, several percentage points lower than its result in 2009 elections, the election commission said on its website (AP)."
Someone doesn't seem to like MAleMA, huh?
