CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South Africans voted on Wednesday in a national election This could be the country’s closest race in 30 years, with the long-ruling African National Congress party facing a tough test to maintain its majority.
The ANC has been the majority party and has been in government since the end of the South African regime. apartheid system of white minority rule and the establishment of democracy in 1994 and He has held the presidency since then.
In the South African political system, people vote for parties and not directly for the president in their national elections. The two processes are separate, although they are linked: Voters choose parties decide the composition of Parliament and legislators and then elect the president.
Here’s a guide to the main elections in The most advanced country in Africa and why this time it could be complicated for Parliament to choose the president.
ELECTION
The election will take place in just one day, with the polls opening at 7am and closing at 9pm across the country of 62 million inhabitants, which has nine provinces. Almost 28 million South Africans are registered to vote and will decide the makeup of their national and provincial legislatures.
South Africans can choose parties, or for the first time independent candidates, to go to Parliament. Parties win seats in Parliament according to their vote share.
Counting begins immediately after polls close on Wednesday night and final results are expected by Sunday, according to the independent electoral commission that conducts the elections.
CHOOSING A PRESIDENT
The president is elected in Parliament after the results of the national vote are announced. South Africa’s Parliament has two chambers and it is the lower house, or National Assembly, that chooses the president.
There, the 400 legislators vote for one of them to be head of state and a simple majority of 201 is required. Because the ANC it has always had a parliamentary majority since 1994, all presidents since then have been from the ANC, starting with Nelson Mandela.
WHY THIS YEAR COULD BE HISTORIC
It has been almost procedural over the last three decades for the ANC to use its parliamentary majority to elect its leader as president of the country. This year may not be so simple.
Several polls show ANC support at less than 50% ahead of the elections, raising the possibility that may not have a parliamentary majority. It is still widely expected to be the largest party, but if it falls below 50%, it will need a deal or coalition with another party or parties to stay in government and get the 201 votes needed from lawmakers for re-election. President Cyril Ramaphosa for a second and final five-year term.
The new Parliament must meet for its first session within 14 days of the election results being announced to choose the president. If the ANC loses its majority, there will likely be a feverish period of negotiations between it and other parties to form some kind of coalition before Parliament convenes.
It is possible that several opposition parties will unite to completely oust the ANC from government and Ramaphosa as president if they do not have a majority. This is a very remote possibility, considering the two largest opposition parties – the Centrist Democratic Alliance and the far-left economic freedom fighters — are as critical of each other as they are of the ANC and are considered unlikely to work together. The DA is part of a pre-election agreement to join forces with other smaller parties, excluding the EFF, in a coalition, but everyone would have to increase their vote considerably to overtake the ANC.
The ANC has given no indication of who it might work with if South Africa needs an unprecedented national coalition government. Ramaphosa said on Wednesday after the vote that he was confident the ANC would win an absolute majority.
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