FORBES AFRICA’s photojournalists immortalize the tension and elation of the South African elections in May that saw the African National Congress win for the sixth time since 1994.



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In what was a landmark 25 years since the first democratic
elections, South Africa registered, voted and elected the African National
Congress (ANC) for the sixth time to govern the nation again for the next five
years. The 2019 elections saw many surprises and plenty more political action
compared to the previous polls.



&nbsp;In the run-up to
election day, political parties (48 in all) emphasized the country’s
socio-economic challenges such as unemployment, education, housing and the
contentious issue of land expropriation. &nbsp;



On May 8, the day the country cast its vote, voters woke
early to congregate and line up at the 22,924 voting stations strewn across the
country. 



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="410" height="556" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/MM3.png.png" alt="" class="wp-image-40745" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/MM3.png.png 410w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/MM3.png-300x407.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/MM3.png-221x300.png 221w" sizes="(max-width: 410px) 100vw, 410px" /><figcaption> FORBES AFRICA’s photojournalists immortalize the tension and elation of the South African elections in May that saw the African National Congress win for the sixth time since 1994. Picture: Motlabana Monnakgotla</figcaption></figure></div>



I was among them, a citizen also doubling as a
photojournalist on the quest to document this historic election, my camera
strapped around my neck and my constant companion.&nbsp; 



This Wednesday morning was particularly cold but voters were
in sweaters and armed with their identity books to have a say in South African
politics with an ‘X’ mark on the ballot paper. 



Mmusi Maimane, the leader of the opposition party, the
Democratic Alliance (DA), was among those at the Presbyterian Church in
Dobsonville, Soweto; the township where he was born.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="929" height="617" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/MM1.png.png" alt="" class="wp-image-40741" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/MM1.png.png 929w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/MM1.png-300x199.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/MM1.png-600x398.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/MM1.png-768x510.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 929px) 100vw, 929px" /><figcaption> Mmusi Maimane, the leader of the opposition party, the Democratic Alliance. Picture: Motlabana Monnakgotla </figcaption></figure>



His arrival created a frenzy as international and local
media wrestled with each other for the perfect shot. 



After casting his vote and walking out of the church, he
addressed the public. 



“On such a historic day, it is important to vote in Soweto
with the people of Soweto to express hope and a future for our country. Soweto,
to me, represents the home of where the struggle is and now we’re entering into
a new struggle for jobs for many South Africans. I remember, vividly and well,
when I played in these streets and I remember too well the release of Nelson
Mandela, therefore today, I urge that we come and cast our votes,” Maimane
said.



He spoke about the new struggle.



“To me, there could be nothing more special, nothing more
historic than being able to express our future. Vote for the future of this
country and for the unemployed South Africans; it’s a new struggle and we are
fighting for the protection of freedom and advancement of freedom.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 



Post the election results, Maimane was the first DA leader
to not have grown more supporters, whereas the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF),
with the third highest number of votes, gained more in all South African
provinces except the Northern Cape. 



A few kilometers from Dobsonville is Mzimhlophe Hostel. A
hostel among many others in Soweto that erupted with service delivery protests
prior to the elections. On election day, it was more peaceful and locals were
going about their daily lives.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="923" height="617" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/MM8.png.png" alt="" class="wp-image-40742" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/MM8.png.png 923w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/MM8.png-300x201.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/MM8.png-600x401.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/MM8.png-768x513.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 923px) 100vw, 923px" /><figcaption>Kwenzi Gwala standing outside what is left of his shack. Picture: Motlabana Monnakgotla </figcaption></figure>



In the same vicinity is a squatter camp (informal
settlement) allegedly set on fire weeks before the elections. 



Residents and brothers Mduduzi (32) and Kwenzi Gwala (22)
came to Johannesburg looking for employment.



“This is my first time voting this year; I wish the economy
could strengthen so we can move out of the squatter camps and live in houses.
Our camp burned around the Easter holidays while we were at church. We used to
sell African beer and our stock got burned along with the money and clothes
that were inside. All we have is what we are wearing now,” Kwenzi says. 



About 12 kilometers away was where national president and
president of the ANC Cyril Ramaphosa cast his vote in his hometown of Chiawelo,
at a local primary school. 



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="925" height="615" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/MM6.png.png" alt="" class="wp-image-40743" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/MM6.png.png 925w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/MM6.png-300x199.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/MM6.png-600x399.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/MM6.png-768x511.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 925px) 100vw, 925px" /><figcaption> National president and president of the ANC Cyril Ramaphosa cast his vote in his hometown of Chiawelo. Picture: Motlabana Monnakgotla </figcaption></figure>



The supporters of various parties, the media and voters were
out in full force to witness their president in Soweto.



“The nation and the people are energized. They can see their
votes are heralding a new dawn. This is a vote that reminds me of 1994 when the
people were just as excited as this because they were heralding a new period, a
new future for our country,” said Ramaphosa. 



“Today, this is what I am picking up, our people are excited
about what lies tomorrow and they want to vote for a government that is going
to serve them, that is going to address their needs and aspirations. So, I am
truly humbled by the turnout that I’ve seen here. 



“There is a great vibe and it’s a vibe for democracy, it’s a
vote also for our democratic system that we’ve been building over the last 25
years. So, 25 years later, we still have a nation that is breathing confidence
and excitement casting their vote. Today, I will go home to sleep very peacefully
like I did last night. 



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="929" height="617" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/MM7.png.png" alt="" class="wp-image-40744" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/MM7.png.png 929w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/MM7.png-300x199.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/MM7.png-600x398.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/MM7.png-768x510.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 929px) 100vw, 929px" /><figcaption>Brother of South African journalist Shiraaz Mohamed, kidnapped in Syria on January 2017, begs for government intervention. Picture: Motlabana Monnakgotla </figcaption></figure>



“This vote is about confidence, it is about the future and
it is about us that are going to be elected to work a lot harder, much harder
than we have in the past to realize the ideals, wishes and hopes of our people,
so this, to me, is like a rocket booster for democracy and we are going to
build a great country because we will be doing so standing on the shoulders of
our people,” Ramaphosa said. 



Like the DA, the ANC lost more supporters nationally; Gauteng province was the gold prize, for the first time since 1999, the ANC had to battle to remain above 50% to secure the province.



&#8211;Motlabana Monnakgotla







<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Thumbs Up In&nbsp; Vibrant
Yeoville</h2>



The grey, gloomy weather did not dampen the excitement as
South African citizens, young and old, made their way to their respective
voting booths on May 8. 



First-time voters enthusiastically posted images of their
thumbs on social media after their turn polling. Twenty five years
post-apartheid, they did what voters in 1994 could not – flaunt their inky
fingers to the world.&nbsp; 



This year marked the sixth democratic elections since the
fall of racial segregation.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="931" height="617" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/GL4.png1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-40752" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/GL4.png1.png 931w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/GL4.png1-300x199.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/GL4.png1-600x398.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/GL4.png1-768x509.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 931px) 100vw, 931px" /><figcaption> Members of South Africa&#8217;s three biggest parties show unity during the South Africa 2019 elections. Picture: Gypseenia Lion</figcaption></figure>



When former President Nelson Mandela’s handcuffs were
removed, a nation was freed from years of brutal laws that marginalized people
of color in South Africa. 



As a young ‘colored’ woman born in 1995, there’s another
layer to my identity as a ‘born-free’ citizen. 



I use the terms ‘colored’ and ‘born-free’ loosely, only
because of the numerous socio-cultural connotations attached to my identity. 



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="410" height="617" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/GL2.png.png" alt="" class="wp-image-40747" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/GL2.png.png 410w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/GL2.png-300x451.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/GL2.png-199x300.png 199w" sizes="(max-width: 410px) 100vw, 410px" /><figcaption> The South African flag could be seen everywhere during the 2019 South Africa elections. Picture: Gypseenia Lion </figcaption></figure></div>



On May 8, I joined the scores of people from the lively Yeoville
suburb, once a cosmopolitan source of pride, but now largely associated with
crime and discord in Johannesburg. 



As a lone female photojournalist in one of the notorious
parts of the inner city, I found myself in the cold with a groveling stomach,
and without a cent to my name. 



The 1970s had seen Yeoville come alive as night clubs and
art and music galleries opened up along the neighbourhood’s main commercial
strip of Rocky Raleigh Street. 



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="926" height="616" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/GL6.png.png" alt="" class="wp-image-40748" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/GL6.png.png 926w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/GL6.png-300x200.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/GL6.png-600x399.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/GL6.png-768x511.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 926px) 100vw, 926px" /><figcaption> Police officer survey elections in Yeoville. Picture: Gypseenia Lion </figcaption></figure>



This was before the tightening of segregation policies. Under
apartheid, members of the community were strong supporters of the ANC and
mobilized around the organization when it had been officially banned. 



ANC stalwart Joe Slovo has his political roots in the
community. 



Yeoville’s political scene, just like the culture, was one
of the most vibrant in South Africa in the 1980s. 



It still is today, and on election day, it was even more
apparent as the top three contesting parties gathered outside the Yeoville
Recreation Center. 



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="926" height="618" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/GL3.png.png" alt="" class="wp-image-40749" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/GL3.png.png 926w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/GL3.png-300x200.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/GL3.png-600x400.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/GL3.png-768x513.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 926px) 100vw, 926px" /><figcaption> A man who identifies as a feminist gets ready to cast his vote. Picture: Gypseenia Lion </figcaption></figure>



The ANC, EFF and the DA were set up in front of the voting
station.&nbsp; 



The corner was filled with people singing and dancing to
struggle songs. 



Laughter and playful disputes broke out between party
members, and when a passer-by showed concern, an ANC comrade responded with a
trite: “We are a family here, no one is fighting.”&nbsp; 



As voting came to an end, light peeked through the clouds,
even as the crowd continued to sing, this time, more enthusiastically. 



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="925" height="614" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/GL1.png.png" alt="" class="wp-image-40750" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/GL1.png.png 925w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/GL1.png-300x199.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/GL1.png-600x398.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/GL1.png-768x510.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 925px) 100vw, 925px" /><figcaption> The Yeoville community showed unrivalled hospitality and fed the reporter. Picture: Gypseenia Lion </figcaption></figure>



The light, for them, was the ray of hope that their ‘X’
marks brought. 



On this day, there was no crime or chaos. The community
showed me unrivalled hospitality and fed me the whole day. 



Water, a chair or anything I needed for comfort was only a
request away. 



My camera loved them and they returned the love. 



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="927" height="613" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/GL7.png.png" alt="" class="wp-image-40751" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/GL7.png.png 927w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/GL7.png-300x198.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/GL7.png-600x397.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/GL7.png-768x508.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 927px) 100vw, 927px" /><figcaption> Yeoville residents get ready to cast their votes. Picture: Gypseenia Lion </figcaption></figure>



The future is questionable but for the people of Yeoville,
tomorrow is just another day filled with struggle. 



I returned to the office with a full stomach and a newfound love for a place I was initially apprehensive about.



-Gypseenia Lion

IN PICTURES | Looking Back At The Vibe Of The South African Elections

Time stands still for no woman; this truth is the thread running through Helen Zille’s life and career. Zille is currently the Premier of South Africa’s second largest province, by GDP, the Western Cape. For the last seven years, she has also been the leader of South Africa’s official opposition party – the Democratic Alliance (DA) – suffering all the slings and arrows that go with the job. At 63 years old, she is a wife and mother; an anti-apartheid activist and a former journalist.
“I try to use each minute that I have. I also enjoy being busy. I always say that for relaxation, I enjoy working slowly, without being under too much pressure,” she says.
It has been a tough year. The South African general elections, in May last year, saw the DA garner nearly 22% of the votes, an increase of 3.25%; a slow and painful eating away of the vast majority held for 20 years by the ruling African National Congress (ANC).
“We win three per cent at every election and then go away and cry for five years until we can try again,” said one DA activist on election night in Pretoria.
Even for the indefatigable Zille, the campaign trail proved a sapping marathon. It was born under a bad sign; before a vote was cast there was an embarrassing bungled coalition with a smaller political party run by Mamphela Ramphele – Agang. The two leaders sealed the deal with a kiss, but ended up spitting as the coalition fell apart.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-29965 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/ForbesCover037-223x300.jpg" alt="" width="223" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/ForbesCover037-223x300.jpg 223w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/ForbesCover037-300x404.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/ForbesCover037-600x808.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/ForbesCover037-768x1034.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/ForbesCover037-761x1024.jpg 761w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/ForbesCover037.jpg 760w" sizes="(max-width: 223px) 100vw, 223px" />
“I offered her the world, she wanted the universe, she has ended up with a shack in Pofadder,” said Zille on election night of the still-born coalition. For the uninitiated, Pofadder is a small town in South Africa’s very quiet Northern Cape province.
The press had a field day, but the best was yet to come. There was talk of discord in the DA ranks right up to the casting of the last vote. To make matters worse, Zille’s right hand woman, Lindiwe Mazibuko, walked away after the elections. Many saw Mazibuko as the heir apparent.
Zille will battle through. In less than 18 months, she faces South Africa’s Municipal Election, where the DA is pushing to take the key provinces of Johannesburg and the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipalities from the ANC.
This political street fight is not too far from her thoughts as Zille arrives at the FORBES WOMAN AFRICA photo shoot in a whirl. In the space of 30 minutes, she has parallel-parked and unloaded her car; pulled a collection of suitcases and bags up the staircase to the studio; greeted all in English, Afrikaans and Xhosa; investigated the wardrobe; made a call to her economics advisor; tweeted her whereabouts and thoughts to 546, 000 followers and has settled in for make-up and hair-styling.
“Even as a young girl, I never slept much. I was determined and very active. I was always organizing things – clubs, events and galas – anything!” says Zille.
Zille went to school in Johannesburg. She started out in 1974 as a political journalist writing for the liberal Rand Daily Mail. A 26-year-old Zille made headlines – along with then editor Allister Sparks – with an expose of the death in prison of anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko. The story of the attempt to cover up police brutality made headlines around the world and helped make Zille’s name.
“I enjoyed the pressure of the job. I enjoyed the investigative component of journalism, working against deadlines, being challenged. Those things float my boat, and that was the reason I really enjoyed my job at the Rand Daily Mail. I had grown up in a liberal home, so I was used to seeing my parents oppose apartheid. It was hard-wired in me and I did not think it was unusual.”
The newspaper shut in 1985 in a clampdown on freedom. Zille’s career veered into public policy and education when the University of Cape Town appointed her director of development in 1993.
At this stage, she was married with two small children and never dreamed a career in politics was just around the corner.
“I never intended to become a politician. It happened accidentally. When I was chair of the governing body of the Grove Primary School, where my children went to school, the government undertook such damaging actions, that I went to court to stop them – and when this did not help, I realized I had to be in the political arena to fight for what I believed in, where it really mattered – where policies and laws are made,” she says.
In fact, Zille was appointed provincial head of education after becoming progressively closer to the Democratic Party – an early incarnation of the DA – in 1999.
The next 15 years saw Zille rise through the leadership of the party, becoming a member of parliament in 2004, leader in 2007 and Mayor of Cape Town. The latter saw an election win by a wafer-thin majority.
“We had to put together a seven-party coalition and then we only made it by a single vote, if the PAC (Pan Africanist Congress) abstained. The likelihood of that happening was really remote. But we managed to pull it off, and that vote defined the next five years,” she says.
Zille’s victories as Cape Town mayor included cutting crime and boosting the economy. Critics counter that South Africa was growing quickly anyway.
Despite this, Zille has weathered the squall through three national elections by never backing down.
As Western Cape premier, Zille sees her mission as the promotion of the province as a pocket of excellence that could bode well for ambitions to take over two more municipalities in the 2016 elections. The Western Cape’s green economy is one area which Zille has taken to with a passion.
The province is enticing foreign investors into the burgeoning wind and solar industries. The investment drive has brought in R8 billion ($645 million).
“Our government is committed to doing everything it can to ensure that wind farms are developed without unnecessary logistical and regulatory hitches. We are therefore appealing to developers to engage with us on any problems they encounter so that we can ensure the efficient roll-out of these farms across the province.”
Another area of focus for Zille is the promotion of the Western Cape as a breeding ground for young, creative tech types – an idea dreamed up in 2008 by tech entrepreneurs Vinny Lingham and Justin Stanford to help drum up venture capital. Since then, the ‘Silicon Cape’ has taken on a life of its own.
Zille may not be savaged in the same way as her predecessor at the DA, Tony Leon – who was once derided as a yapping Chihuahua – but the arrows of outrageous fortune have swished past her head.
Just ask one of Africa’s best-known scourges of the pompous and the political. Commentators and angry politicians have often accused political cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro, or Zapiro, of being tough on the ANC and gentler with the opposition.
Try telling Zapiro that as he took aim over the last year. His pen first drew Zille as Godzille – a monster-politician, in 2006, with tongue firmly in cheek.
This year, Zapiro reprinted the cartoon and inferred that Zille had become the caricature. He referred to Zille’s backlash against Mazibuko’s departure from the DA.
Zille confirmed that her professional relationship with Mazibuko had suffered and criticized Mazibuko’s track-record.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-29966 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/ForbesCover257-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/ForbesCover257-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/ForbesCover257-300x450.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/ForbesCover257-600x900.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/ForbesCover257-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/ForbesCover257-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/ForbesCover257.jpg 682w" sizes="(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" />
“I like and respect Helen,” says Zapiro. “But she has many human failings. She takes charge of too many things and hasn’t loosened her hold on the party’s leadership. There is some evidence in the public space which suggests that the young bloods inside the DA are frustrated by her strong grip. For example, there was the incident where she tried to parachute Mamphela Ramphele into the organization.”
Zille has also been criticized for not using self-control on social media platforms, Twitter in particular where Zille takes on both supporters and critics. When she speaks about her public image, she is phlegmatic.
“The electorate is not static or homogenous. People see me in different ways which is why I have nicknames ranging from Godzille to Nontsapho (which means the mother of the family). I suppose some people see me as tough and ruthless, other people see me as kind and motherly – and everything in between.”
Mother or monster, love her or hate her; you can’t ignore Zille.

Tag: Democratic Alliance

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IN PICTURES | Looking Back At The Vibe Of The South African Elections

Godzille – Why Cartoonists And Voters Wait For No Woman