Concerns that will mark elections in South Africa: inequality, crime and corruption

South Africamost industrialized country Africa, will hold general elections this Wednesday involved in an electoral debate in which citizen concerns such as inequality, criminality, corruption or the Palestinian-Israeli conflict can condition the result.

The ruling African National Congress (ANC) of the country’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, has been in power since Nelson Mandela ended the racist system of “apartheid” By winning the first multiracial elections in 1994, he will try to retain his absolute majority, although polls predict that he could lose it for the first time.

The big issues that will mark the elections are:

1. Inequality and unemployment

According to a World Bank report published in 2022, South Africa is the most unequal country on the planet, as the 10% of the richest population owns 80.6% of the financial assets. Added to this inequality is high unemployment, one of the main concerns of South Africans.

The unemployment rate grew during the first quarter of 2024 to 32.9%, although youth unemployment was at 45.5%.

At a rally, John Steenhuisen, leader of the opposition at the head of the Democratic Alliance (AD), said that unemployment is “the biggest crisis facing South Africa.”

2. High crime

Violence is at the center of the electoral agenda as it is a recurring problem in South Africa, which has one of the highest crime rates in the world.

The opposition focuses its speech on reducing crime: “We are going to hire more police officers,” Julius Malema, leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party, said at a rally.

Last year, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), more than 27,000 murders occurred in South Africa, which is equivalent to 45 people per 100,000 inhabitants.

3. Rampant corruption

The fight against corruption occupies an important weight within the Government’s discourse, especially in recent years, marked by the scandals of Ramaphosa’s predecessor, Jacob Zuma (2009-2018).

“For a decade, people at the highest levels of the State conspired with private individuals to seize and use state-owned companies, law enforcement agencies and other public institutions,” Ramaphosa admitted in his State of the Nation address on February 8.

4. Electrical crisis

Electricity outages have been the daily bread of South Africans for years due to the precarious situation of the public company in charge of the 90% of national production, the indebted Eskom.

On May 13, Ramaphosa noted that the “sustained improvement” of Eskom power plants anticipates that “the end of supply cuts is in sight.” Since his arrival to the Government in 2018, the president has not stopped promising, without success, to solve the problem.

5. Israeli-Palestinian conflict

The South African Government denounced on May 16 before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that the ““institutionalized impunity” of Israel is allowing “annihilation” of the Palestinians of Gaza, and asked to demand “in a clearly explicit manner” the cessation of its military activities in the Strip.

The ANC has historically been a strong supporter of the Palestinian cause and has linked that cause to its own fight against “apartheid” (1948-1994).

However, the AD did not support the ANC’s decision to sue Israel before the ICJ last December. Although this party has traditionally shown its support for Israel, since the war began last October, its stance has shifted toward neutrality.

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