2009 looks like it’s going to be a very interesting year in many ways.The IEC has announced it has a total of 137 registered political parties this year.Many of the smaller parties we will still remember from the beginning of democratic elections in South Africa, such as the Kiss party.
Over 21 million South Africans had already registered to vote before the end of 2008 and registration continues.There is also another voter registration weekend proposed for February.According to figures from the previous election this is already an increase of 1.2 million registered voters.
Some say it could point to a decrease in the ruling ANC’s past overwhelming popularity with voters if the increase in opponents and registered voters are taken into account.
There is, as yet, no fixed date for the election but the parties will soon announce their intentions as to whether or not to run at a national or provincial level.
With the tumultuous 2008 behind us most are hoping for a smooth 2009.The world is in the midst of a financial crisis and any further political upheaval in the future could mean more tough times for South African citizens as investors lose confidence in the stability of our fledgling democracy.
We will already have alot of controversy surrounding the elections as the Bloemfontein supreme court of appeals has today announced that the corruption charges against ANC presidential candidate,Jacob Zuma ,can be re-instated.This is because it found that Judge Chris Nicholson overstepped his authority when he halted the charges against Zuma last year because of political interference speculation.
