Kwaximba: In a village nestled in the mountains of South Africa’s hot KwaZulu-Natal province, former president Jacob Zuma’s new party has waged a relentless campaign to woo voters away from the ruling ANC.
Outside a local school that served as a polling station on Monday, rival tents set up by both parties blasted party anthems to welcome early voters to cast their ballots.
Most South Africans will vote on Wednesday, but some, including the elderly and disabled, were allowed to vote on Monday in the most difficult election in decades.
The emergence of Zuma in uMkhonto and Sizwe (MK) has increased tensions in KwaZulu-Natal, a key electoral battleground notorious for political infighting.
KwaXimba, a rural area dotted with crimson rondavel huts outside the eastern city of Durban, has been ruled by the African National Congress (ANC) since democracy was established in 1994.
But many here respect Zuma, an ethnic Zulu born in the province.
“We have needed change in our lives for a long time,” said Thokozani Mthembu, MK’s local coordinator in KwaXimba.
Some polls suggest that MK may win the most votes in KwaZulu-Natal. This will condemn the ANC to its worst election results in decades.
Voting went smoothly in KwaXimba throughout the day, but it was tense.
Mthembu said Zuma, 82, received threats of violence from ANC supporters after he held a rally with hundreds of supporters in KwaXimba in January. Some voters wrongly said that MK will get social grants and free housing.
The ANC has denied any wrongdoing.
Earlier this month, police issued a warning against “dissemination with the potential to incite violence or cause public panic” after an audio recording was released that said 11 people were killed in a politically motivated shooting.
On his way home from school, chickens cling to the yard of 66-year-old Nicholas Ndlowu as he goes out, waiting for election officials to come to his house and let him cast his early vote.
He said he hoped he would end up in the opposition, saying that if he fought for the ANC in the anti-apartheid struggle.
The campaign posters of the rival parties hang in the village streets where cows roam under the sun.
An ANC volunteer, Jabulile Nduna, said the rift between Zuma and his party had led to the removal of his family.
“I (sat) my brothers down and told them, ‘At the end of the day, we have one mother and one father’ … whether MK wins or ANK wins, we must remain a family,” the 43-year-old said. -old mother of three, walking on the wet road near TPS as it is.
On a campaign visit to KwaXimba last month, President Cyril Ramaphosa warned voters that new parties trying to “stab the edge” of ANC support would not win power.
But some like Nkazimula Makhanya did not heed the call.
At 26, he has no job and little chance of finding a job, with youth unemployment at 45 percent.
“Despite how old he is, he appreciates our input and gives us a chance to win,” he said.
