Johannesburg, South Africa – Mpimo Hlavanganwane is much younger than democratic South Africa. The 23-year-old grew up in Chiawelo, the same area of Soweto that President Cyril Ramaphosa calls home. Moments before the president arrived at Hitekani Primary School to vote in the glare of cameras on Wednesday, Hlavanganwane silently lined up to vote.
In the narrative of Ramaphosa’s African National Congress (ANC), Hlavanganwane is among the “Tintswalos” – the name given to young South Africans born after the introduction of democracy who benefited from ANC rule.
But that’s not how Hlavanganwane sees things.
He has a degree in accounting from the University of Johannesburg. But all too often, he himself is a statistic. Like millions of other South Africans, he has no job, despite trying for months to find one. In total, 45.5 percent of young people in South Africa are unemployed.
A week before South Africa’s elections on Wednesday, a quarterly survey measuring unemployment by Statistics South Africa revealed that the total number of unemployed people in South Africa increased by 330,000 to 8.2 million during the first quarter. The global unemployment rate is almost 33%, the highest in the world.
This harsh reality was the reason Hlavanganwane showed up to vote – and the reason he said he could not vote for the African National Congress (ANC), despite coming from a family with strong ties to the party, which led the freedom movement. against apartheid. The ANC has governed South Africa since winning the country’s first post-apartheid democratic elections in 1994.
“I’m nervous, but we need to vote to effect change,” Hlavanganwane said. “It seems like they don’t care about young people. The unemployment rate is rising.”
In its election campaign, the ANC promised to create 2.5 million jobs if given the opportunity to govern again over the next five years.
But Hlavanganwane said he was not convinced and it was time to break with the past – for the country and for himself.
“My grandmother was a person who was a big supporter of the ANC. She went to ANC events and meetings. I grew up knowing the ANC and knowing that they are the right people to vote for,” he said. “As you get older, you get exposed to things and learn more. In fact, they may not be the right people to vote for.”
Like other parts of the country, support for the ANC in Soweto – the Johannesburg township that Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu called home – is waning.
On Wednesday, polling places opened at 7 a.m., with isolated incidents of delays and disruptions. They will be open until 9pm, and counting starts shortly after. Almost 28 million South Africans are registered to vote in a country with a population of 62 million. Results are expected by Sunday.
Polls suggest the vote could prove historic, marking the first time the ANC could lose its majority since 1994. John Steenhuisen, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Alliance party, said during the vote in Durban: “ This is a critical election. for South Africa and tomorrow we can be a better country, but only if we vote for it.”
In KwaZulu-Natal province, the emerging uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, led by former President Jacob Zuma, is the favorite to win as it eats up votes from the ANC.
But outside his voting booth in Soweto, Ramaphosa was optimistic about the ANC’s national prospects. “The people of South Africa will give the ANC a firm majority when they vote today. There is no doubt about that. The ANC, under my leadership, led a formidable campaign,” he said. “People are voting to stabilize and extend our democracy. It is a great day for the people of South Africa when South Africa decides who should lead the government.” ANC supporters in Soweto howled as the president walked away from the township he once called home.
‘Excited to vote’
In the neighboring town of Lenasia, Attiya Songo was voting for the first time. “I’m really excited,” she said.
The 23-year-old political science student at the University of Johannesburg grew up in a household of ANC activists. Her family was among the millions who were forced to move by the apartheid state, and she grew up hearing stories from her father and grandfather about the struggle for freedom.
As a child, Attiya had an optimistic view of the ANC from the stories she heard from her parents and grandparents. Now with the chance to vote, she doesn’t share that opinion.
“When I was younger, there were some good things about them. Now, as I get older, I have nothing positive to say about the ANC,” she said. “It was never considered voting for them.”
Her mother, Salma Songo, who was behind her in line to vote at Lenz Public School, said she had voted for the ANC since 1994.
She said it was unthinkable that the day would come when she would no longer vote for the ANC. However, Wednesday was that day.
“I remember the emotion and joy of voting in 1994. We voted here in Lenasia. We had lines winding and winding and the excitement was absolute,” said Salma.
She said corruption and greed were the main reasons why the ANC lost its way. And at least some of your votes.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
