Vol 65 No 12 | SOUTH AFRICA How Western Cape tested the opposition's coalition strategy 29th May 2024 The centre-right Democratic Alliance has controlled the province since 2009 but is facing pushback from smaller parties in its political base Early reports of a high turnout across the country on 29 May have boosted the ruling African National Congress's hopes that it might retain its national parliamentary majority...
Vol 65 No 12 | SOUTH AFRICA BHP's 'final' bid for Anglo set for election day 24th May 2024 With $50 billion on the table, the biggest mining deal in history faces a wall of corporate and political obstacles Given the stakes in jobs and economic growth, it's fitting that the deadline for the offer by Australia's BHP for Anglo American should fall on 29 May, election...
Vol 65 No 11 | SOUTH AFRICA On the back foot in Gauteng 23rd May 2024 Fearing a populist wave from the Malema and Zuma parties, the ANC is sending its veteran leaders to get out the vote for 29 May So serious is the prospect of it losing badly in the 29 May election that the ruling African National Congress has leant on its former leaders, including those...
Vol 65 No 11 | MOZAMBIQUE How Chapo won the anti-Nyusi vote 23rd May 2024 The ruling party has elected its most junior leader ever – in an apparent snub to the outgoing President After the surprise selection of Governor of Inhambane province Daniel Chapo as the ruling Frente de Libertacao de Mocambique's presidential candidate for October's general election, debate continues as...
Vol 65 No 11 | MOZAMBIQUE Ins and outs in Cabo Delgado 23rd May 2024 The plethora of international military forces in Cabo Delgado province is about to shrink. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) contingent of over 2,200 soldiers, which was tasked...
Vol 65 No 11 | SOUTH AFRICA A reckoning for the Ramaphosa party 16th May 2024 The biggest threat to the ANC's electoral base comes from its two breakaway populist parties For realists in the African National Congress the central question in the 29 May elections is how the party manages the end of its 30-year domination of national...
Vol 65 No 10 | SOUTH AFRICA Pollsters vie for credibility with politicians 9th May 2024 Opinion surveys struggle to keep up with the changing shape of this intensely contested election Activists and politicians across the spectrum agree on one point: opinion surveys in South Africa are often wide of the mark, undermined by poor methodology, and sometimes institutional...
Vol 65 No 10 | NAMIBIA SWAPO's prospects lag behind economy 9th May 2024 Geingob's death and a row over the German genocide make for an awkward transition in this year's polls against a strong opposition The lavish and lengthy obsequies for President Hage Geingob, who died aged 82 on 4 February, turned out to be just an interlude in the drama on whether...
Vol 65 No 10 | MALAWI Veep graft case abandoned 9th May 2024 The corruption case against Malawi's Vice-President Saulos Chilima has been abandoned on the order of President Lazarus Chakwera. Chilima was arrested in November 2022 over allegations that he...
Vol 65 No 10 | MOZAMBIQUE The prize goes to Chapo 9th May 2024 The ruling Frente de Libertação de Moçambique (Frelimo) party has finally chosen its presidential candidate for October's general election. In a process which saw the party's politburo wait...