Today is a BIG day! South Africa’s elections are taking place all day, and it is widely understood that Zuma (ANC candidate) will be elected. The larger question in this election is will he get two-thirds majority. It is expected that the ANC party, once in office, will change the constitution so that the new president elected with two-thirds majority will be in office for lifetime. From what I understand, Zuma has very communist views and the future does not look bright with him leading the country. A few weeks ago he was pardoned from the rape charges he had against him. He was supposed to be on trial for rape in his first days as President, but I guess they just scratched it altogether. One of the campaign slogans for a smaller party here says “Put criminals in jail not in government.”
Several of the nationals we have worked with along the way will not even be voting today. Party popularity varies by region, but it seems that the DA party is the second largest party supported, although still in the minority. There is a new party called COPE which split off from the ANC party for this election. There have to be at least 10 different parties running for office… I’m not sure of the exact number… but definitely more options than the States. The ballot here has pictures of the candidates next to their names for those that cannot read.
Since the schools are closed for elections and we needed to stay clear of the polls … we got to spend a few hours this afternoon at the Knysna Elephant Park! It was awesome. We got to touch, feed, and video these gentle beasts. The back of their ears are super soft, but watch out or they will flap you with them! There were also two one-year old babies running around. They had really cute toe nails. What a crazy day!
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