A former South African MP has described the elections, which took place on Wednesday, as the most crucial since 1994 in an exclusive interview with RT.
Andile Mngxitama, member of the uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party, believes the ruling African National Congress (ANC) will face significant challenges that could lead to its defeat.
“We believe that there’s a real possibility that the ANC will lose these elections, and a new government will be formed,” Mngxitama told RT. He expressed concerns about a potential coalition between the ANC and the Democratic Alliance (DA), which he fears could lead to a “conservative, anti-black, anti-worker, pro-capital, pro-imperialist government.”
Such a coalition would derail the progressive agenda needed to address poverty, landlessness, and economic exclusion, he claimed.
Nobuntu Hlazo-Webster, deputy president of the Build One South Africa (BOSA) party, has emphasized the need for trustworthy leadership to tackle incompetence and corruption.
“South Africans want leaders that they can trust. Our campaign focuses on creating jobs and stimulating the economy by tapping into the economic potential of townships with plans for special economic zones,” she said.
Ernest Hlathi, the сhair of the African People’s Convention (APC) party, criticized the ANC for not aligning with the needs of Africans, stating that South Africa is rich, but its inhabitants are “very poor and dependent.”
“We want to liberate our people from that dependency syndrome,” he added.
Polling stations across the country opened on Wednesday for approximately 28 million voters. Stations were scheduled to close at 9pm but faced delays due to clashes, power outages, and other disruptions in various parts of the country. The initial election results began to emerge around 2am today.