South Africa stood at the crossroads as the country went to the polls on 8 May 2019. Now, with the ink barely dry on the official results, it is clear that the country has averted the Venezuela-like doomsday scenario foretold by so many pessimists.
Perhaps more concerning were the droves of first-time youth voters who never bothered to register at all. There are 35.9 million South Africans eligible to vote – almost nine million did not register, a further nine million didn’t bother to vote. In other words, the effective turnout was under 50%, not 65%, speaking volumes about the actual perception of organised politics to resolve the country’s issues 25 years after the advent of democracy.
The faction that opposes him is linked to his predecessor in more ways than one and many of its members face a very real existential crisis if Ramaphosa succeeds with his stated aim not just to clean up government of the scourge of corruption but to prosecute and punish those who have been part of the State Capture that has come to define the last nine years of South African politics.