Elections will be a game-changer

Not long ago, President Cyril Ramaphosa, pictured, announced the date of elections as 29 May. The day will be a public holiday to allow citizens to vote. High voter turnout, especially among the youth, is expected.

According to political pundits, the general election will be a game-changer. There might be a shift in power and coalition governments might be the order of the day. Independent candidates will also take part for the first time.

The ANC has been in power for 30 years. That’s a long time, especially in a so-called democracy. This shows the faith voters had in the governing party.

Did voters get a return on their investment by voting the governing party? There is no easy answer.

There is a possibility that the ANC can lose power and warm the opposition benches. There is also a possibility that it can retain power. The truth is, Ramaphosa’s party is still popular with the masses. And there is no political party that can individually dethrone it from power.

Interestingly, more than 350 political parties are going to take part in the elections.

That’s too much administration for the Electoral Commission of South Africa. What are the ballot papers going to look like?

One role player that I’m interested in the forthcoming elections is the media.

Given the high number of political parties that will be partaking, how is the media going to cover these elections? Will small parties be given fair coverage?

What about independent candidates?

They need media to spread their messages more than political parties. It’s almost impossible for them to reach all the corners of the country, given their capacity.

I’m yet to see a poster of an independent candidate. Will the media come to their rescue?