Wednesday, April 22, 2009

South Africa Votes

Long lines and some delays are reported in South Africa's Presidential elections which are underway as I'm writing this. ANC Candidate Jacob Zuma is widely expected to win, but there's some indication that the ANC might loses it's stranglehold on Parliament with the emergence of a breakaway faction, the Congress of the People (COPE) which was formed after former President Thabo Mbeki was ousted last year. Mr. Zuma is a controversial figure in some quarters, having, if memory serves, been forced to resign due to corruption charges- which were dropped just a couple of weeks before the election. (Convenient? Perhaps so...) Plus, when Archbishop Desmond Tutu isn't behind you- you're probably going to have some problems winning friends and influencing people.

Per the Beeb, there's no real indication that the Presidential race is going to be close- but the betting money is on the second place battle for Parliament between COPE and the other main opposition party the Democratic Alliance. Interestingly enough neither have ruled out a coalition.

Competition is good. It might be a good thing for the ANC to actually have to work for a living instead of just dominating government the way it has since apartheid ended in 1994. Vibrant, healthy democracy can only be a good thing!

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