Pray for a peaceful general election. [Picture: via City Press]
South Africans are being urged to pray for a peaceful general election season as the nation gears to make their mark on the ballot this week. The country’s seventh national and provincial elections are scheduled for Wednesday, although special voting kicked off on Monday.
“Everybody should make du’a for our beloved country,” said renowned Mufti Abdul Kader Hoosen after casting a special vote in Lenasia on Monday. “Things can become volatile at any time; people want to be in power.”
The national provincial elections come at a time when unemployment, poverty and crime rates are among the highest in the world. The ruling African National Congress (ANC) is poised to lose power, and political assassinations are rife.
As special voting kicked off on Monday, the International Crisis Group (ICG) laid out what was at stake. It warned violence could erupt within two weeks after the election as politicians jostled for positions.
“The period when violence is most likely to erupt will be the fortnight after the elections, should the ANC have to enter coalition talks,” wrote Pauline Bax, the group’s program director in Africa.
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Bax, writing for Crisis Group, said: “If there are no clear winners in the provincial legislatures, politicians may rally their supporters for a public show of strength that bolsters their standing”.
“Those left out of eventual negotiations might resort to protest or rioting in order to press for concessions. All political forces should show restraint and refrain from inflammatory rhetoric, scaremongering and disinformation, turning to the courts rather than the streets if aggrieved,” she continued.
Meanwhile, analysis by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) indicates widespread public violence is “unlikely” after the elections. However, it said authorities “must be ready to proactively prevent and contain disruption”.
It said a repeat of the violence seen in July 2021, when Jacob Zuma was incarcerated, was unlikely since authorities appeared to be in a better position in the run up to the elections.
“Police and private security have since improved communication and coordination, and seemingly better state and private intelligence-gathering systems should prevent large-scale violence. In March, the Presidency emphasised that law enforcement agencies were preparing for all scenarios to ensure free and fair elections.”
