(Politics): South African Parties Ready 2024 Election Campaigns

According to Deutsche Welle, President Cyril Ramaphosa's race for an African National Congress (ANC) majority in the 2024 election may be tight with the country's unemployment rate being among the highest in Africa and around the world.

In its first-ever election manifesto, the ANC promised South Africans adequate housing, water, and electricity. Nearly three decades after taking power, the governing party barely manages to keep the lights on in people's homes as the nation battles a protracted energy crisis.

This comes as opposition parties including the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the National Freedom Party kick off their election campagins. The DA is set on attracting the youth vote. DA leader John Steenhuisen called on the youth to "register to rescue South Africa", saying the coming election will be won or lost based on the participation of young people.

The DA hopes to challenge the ANC and the rising Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) by co-operating with other parties in what it calls a "Moonshot Pact" by partnering with the The Inkatha Freedom Party, Freedom Front-Plus, ActionSA, the National Freedom Party, the United Independent Movement and the Spectrum National Party.

The 2024 polls will be a critical election for the ANC and one which may see it repeat its struggle of gainning control of the Western Cape, according to The Conversation Africa. The effect of the ANC's governance and poor performance in the eight provinces and most municipalities it runs is the main factor in the party's nationally declining vote in the four general elections held since 1994.

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