“Even though I’ve lost interest in the A.N.C., I won’t stop voting for it because of my late brother,” she said.
Young residents of Chantelle, like Tumi Hihumba, 20, had no such emotional attachment. Even though he was eligible to vote in an election for the first time, he had not registered.
“I don’t see the point of voting actually,” he said, explaining that he did not support the A.N.C., but that the party would win nationally thanks to older voters.
Only in 10 years would the A.N.C. lose nationally because of changing demographics, allowing for real change, Mr. Hihumba said, a prediction echoed by many political analysts.
Some, like the Zitha family, said they had quit the A.N.C. for good.
In the 2016 local elections, the family of four abandoned the A.N.C. to support the Economic Freedom Fighters, an A.N.C. spinoff that supports taking white-owned land for poor blacks. This time, the mother and younger daughter were sticking with the Economic Freedom Fighters, while the father and older daughter were gravitating to the Democratic Alliance, the main opposition party.
Danny Zitha, 66, a retired schoolteacher, said he was annoyed by the A.N.C.’s attempts to woo back voters like himself, especially with talk that the black middle class owed its success to the party.
“I’m proud of what I have,” he said, pointing to the improvements he was making to his home. “All the structure I have here is my money, not the A.N.C.’s.”
Source : Nytimes
