While no one can say for certain which party will come out victorious in the 2024 national elections, however, there has been ground shaking movements that ought to shape the coming elections. The introduction of three ballot papers will be a first for South Africans during next years’ general polls and a lot of work is in progress due to legislative changes and the Electoral Amendment Act which states that a person may be nominated to contest an election as an independent candidate, became effective in June 2023.
Despite recent problems like blackouts, the African National Congress (ANC) party, which has been in power for three decades, is still viewed as a viable contender for the 2024 elections but due to a number of political parties coming together to form a coalition to unseat the ANC, they are at risk of losing their capacity to uphold one party rule, According to Steenhuizen this is “A small step for a politician, but a giant step for a fractious coalition’’. A poll also revealed a decline of supporters in the ANC for the past two decades. In 2004 when Thabo Mbeki was the leader of the ANC, he managed to obtain 70% of the votes, only 57.5 % votes were cast in favour of the ANC under the leadership of Cyril Ramaphosa in 2019 and a poll conducted in March 2023 revealed that the upcoming elections may have fallen as low as 45.9% which puts the ANC under a risk of being unseated. "I do believe we've got a really good platform for the ANC to go to the 2024 elections with victory wrapped around our hands." The President said.
In conclusion, the general outcome of the South African elections in 2024 will likely depend on a number of factors, including the continuous power struggle between the ANC and the opposition parties, and the participation of civil society organisations. It is also the most unpredictable since 1994, and our politics have never been as fluid as they are currently.
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