ANC under pressure to reverse South Africa decline

Image source, AFP via Getty ImagesImage caption, More than 500 parties are contesting the electionsByKhanyisile NgcoboReporting fromJohannesburgSouth Africans are voting in highly contested local elections likely to see a haemorrhaging of votes for the country's former ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC).This year's voting season has been marked by intense campaigns that have included politicians spinning cars, watching grannies knit and even wading through giant-sized potholes. Leaders are campaigning to head South Africa's nearly 300 municipalities, responsible for basic service provision such as water, electricity and refuse collection.For the ANC, the elections are a chance to prove it still has what it takes to govern. The party had a disastrous showing in the last national election, when it lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since 1994 when the racist apartheid system ended.Support for the party has been dropping significantly over the years because of anger over high levels of corruption, unemployment and crime.At its peak, in 2004, the ANC got 70% of the vote in the general election. Two decades later its share dropped to 40%.Polls and pundits ...