ASSESSMENTS

South Africa's Election Will Be a Referendum on Pro-Business Policies

May 1, 2019 | 00:00 GMT

People in Johannesburg walk past an election poster promoting the African National Congress on April 28, 2019.

People in Johannesburg walk past an election poster promoting the African National Congress on April 28, 2019. The May 8 general election will serve as a referendum on Ramaphosa's rule and, by extension, his pro-business and anti-corruption tilt.

(GULSHAN KHAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Highlights

  • South Africa's May 8 general election will indicate whether President Cyril Ramaphosa and his relatively pro-business, anti-corruption policies have a public mandate.
  • Success at the polls will strengthen Ramaphosa's reform agenda, allowing him and his allies to more forcefully tackle burning problems like ineffective Eskom's overhaul.
  • An underwhelming ANC performance will likely embolden more populist elements in the party to increasingly wrest control from Ramaphosa's moderate allies.
  • The election will help determine the fate of critical business policy proposals, such as the controversial expropriation of land without compensation.

As South Africa prepares for its May 8 general election, the question of South Africa's future political and economic directions weighs heavily. The African National Congress (ANC) has been the country's dominant political party for the past two and a half decades, and it's almost guaranteed to remain in power. But the election could reveal that South Africans' faith in the party -- and their current President Cyril Ramaphosa -- is declining. ...

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