The AM Check-in | Voter turnout threatens to redraw SA’s political map

Voter turnout threatens to redraw SA’s political map

President Cyril Ramaphosa cast his vote at Hyde Park High School in Johannesburg. Picture: Business Day/Freddy Mavunda

More than 40% of South Africa’s registered voters had cast ballots by 5pm in the municipal elections on Wednesday, with three hours of voting remaining, as the contest threatens to weaken the ANC further and reshape coalitions governing the country’s biggest cities.

About 12-million people had voted by that point, up from 3.5-million at 10am, according to preliminary figures from the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC).

Gauteng recorded the highest number of votes at about 3-million, followed by KwaZulu-Natal at 2.5-million and the Western Cape at 1.5-million.

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Ramaphosa says US midterms spark hope for a reset in world relations

President Cyril Ramaphosa says South Africa has been working to secure new export markets. File photo: Phando Jikelo

President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Wednesday the results of the midterm elections in the US would usher in a new era in world relations after millions of voters delivered a scathing rebuke to President Donald Trump.

Relations between South Africa and the US are at a low point.

This week Trump’s administration moved to end South Africa’s duty-free access to the US market after last year cutting financial aid and expelling its ambassador to Washington.

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Young and old come out for change

People cast their local government votes at Hyde Park High School in Johannesburg. Picture: Business Day/Freddy Mavunda

From first-time voters hoping to secure jobs and safer communities to pensioners determined to see long-promised basic services delivered, young and old voters went to the polls on Wednesday with one common demand: change.

In Hammanskraal, Midrand, Johannesburg and the Vaal, voters said their ballots represented an opportunity to influence the future of communities struggling with unemployment, crime, poor roads, water shortages and failing municipal services.

For 24-year-old Puseletso Mafuma, voting for the first time in Temba, Hammanskraal, was an emotional milestone that made her feel her voice finally mattered. “I feel relieved that finally I get to choose which party rules. It feels like I have a say. It feels like my voice is finally being heard,” she said.

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