Apathy over local polls

On the eve of South Africa’s landmark local elections, analysts said apathy from voters would be the biggest problem, agencies reported on Monday. Analysts said the elections represented the first major political test of the presidency of Thabo Mbeki, a year-and-a-half after he succeeded Nelson Mandela. The vote will also demonstrate the real impact of the opposition merger which created the Democratic Alliance (DA) from the Democratic Party led by Tony Leon, the opposition leader in parliament, and the New National Party, which was in power under apartheid. The voting will show whether the DA can reach beyond its traditional electorate, white and mixed-race South Africans and attract black voters. All polls predict an erosion in support for the ruling African National Congress (ANC), which won 66 percent of the vote in general elections in June 1999.

Opinion polls show the ANC ahead in most rural areas but running neck-and-neck in the cities, where undecided voters would almost certainly sway the result. Attention will be focused on key municipalities, particularly the battle for Cape Town, the only big city ruled by the opposition, and where the ANC has pulled out all the stops in its campaign.