2011 South African municipal elections: Difference between revisions
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===Election Boycott=== |
===Election Boycott=== |
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The [[Poor People's Alliance]] has called for a boycott of the election under the slogan [[No |
The [[Poor People's Alliance]] has called for a boycott of the election under the slogan [[No Land! No House! No Vote!]].<ref>[http://abahlali.org/node/7981 No Freedom for the Forgotten], [[Abahali baseMjondolo]], 21 April 2011</ref><ref>[http://antieviction.org.za/2011/05/13/reminder-no-vote-events-on-saturday-monday-and-tuesday/ Reminder: No Vote! events on Saturday, Monday and Tuesday], [[Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign]], 14 May 2011</ref><ref>[http://mpbackyarders.org.za/2011/05/13/reminder-backyarders-to-host-anti-vote-election-summit-on-14th-may/ Backyarders to host Anti-Vote Election Summit on 14th May], The [[Mandela Park Backyarders]], 13 May 2011</ref> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 07:12, 16 May 2011
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South Africa will hold municipal elections on 18 May 2011,[1] electing new councils for all municipalities in the country. Municipal elections are held every five years,[2] and the previous municipal elections were held in 2006. The President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, has declared the 18th of May a public holiday for South Africa.
This election will be the third since municipal governments were reorganised on a non-racial basis in the wake of the dismantling of apartheid. The first municipal elections following the reorganisation of municipalities took place in December 2000.
Contentious areas
 | This section possibly contains original research. (August 2010) |
The ruling party of South Africa, the African National Congress (ANC), is facing a growing opposition from the Democratic Alliance (DA). The DA holds control of the Western Cape area, with Cape Town the major city of the province. The DA has made it known that there is a possibility of victory in the Northern Cape province[3] (the only other province without a Black majority). The DA is also supposed to be targeting the coloured areas of the Eastern Cape and Free State (i.e. areas with higher numbers of mixed-raced people).
The ANC would like to increase its control in certain areas, whilst also maintaining its dominance in others. They face tough challenges to do this given the questions posed by opposition parties regarding, service delivery, corruption, healthcare reform, poverty and unemployment rates.
The Congress of the People (COPE) (a break away party formed from within the ANC members) and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) will be determined to prove that they can increase their control in areas as well. Various other parties are expected to contest the elections as well, however, based on previous elections and expected changes since then they are expected to hold a minority power relative to the ANC, DA, Cope and IFP parties respectively.
Cities
DA leader Helen Zille, will attempt to improve her party's success at multi-party governance in Cape Town and also bring the ANC's support under 50% in other major cities. Initial reports suggest that Port Elizabeth may be the most vulnerable for the ANC, with Pretoria, Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and almost all municipalities in the Northern Cape facing stiff challenges from the DA and COPE.
Port Elizabeth lies in a unique region roughly at the border between the Black and Coloured (i.e. mixed raced) population groups. It is expected that there will be strong effort from minorities in the city to try and gain control of the council. Although the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality is over 60% black, the DA hopes that by using COPE and the United Democratic Movement, the vote for the ANC could possibly be lowered under 50% (i.e. minority power) such that the DA can form a coalition and assume governance of that area.
Election Boycott
The Poor People's Alliance has called for a boycott of the election under the slogan No Land! No House! No Vote!.[4][5][6]
References
- ^ "Local Elections on 18 May". BuaNews. 3 March 2011. Retrieved 9 March 2011.
- ^ Section 159 in Chapter 7 of the Constitution of South Africa. A municipal council's term expires after 5 years, but the council continue with its functions until the election of a new council, which must be held within 90 days of the expiry of the council's term.
- ^ http://fromtheold.com/south-african-municipal-election-2011
- ^ No Freedom for the Forgotten, Abahali baseMjondolo, 21 April 2011
- ^ Reminder: No Vote! events on Saturday, Monday and Tuesday, Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign, 14 May 2011
- ^ Backyarders to host Anti-Vote Election Summit on 14th May, The Mandela Park Backyarders, 13 May 2011
