Is the country on the brink of collapse? Today South Africans turn out for a general election, and the party which has ruled the country for 30 years could finally lose power.
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Mandela legacy at risk as South Africa votes
Is the country on the brink of collapse? Today South Africans turn out for a general election, and the party which has ruled the country for 30 years could finally lose power.
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The whole world is watching South Africa today. South Africans are voting for their next leader. Some think the African National Congress, the party of Nelson Mandela, could lose power after 30 years.
Nelson Mandela was the leader of the ANC. He was sent to prison for fighting against the racistBelieving that a person's skin colour makes them better than others. apartheidA system of legally-enshrined racial discrimination and oppression which existed in South Africa from 1948 until the 1990s. It denied non-white South Africans basic human rights. system.
He was released in 1990 after 27 years in prison and in 1994 he became president of South Africa. The ANC have ruled ever since.
Mandela had a message of hope and peace. South Africa became known as "the Rainbow Nation" where people of every kind were welcome.
Thirty years later, the picture is very different. One journalist, Steve Bloomfield, calls it "the most unequal country in the world and among the most dangerous".
People struggle with power cuts, while others do not have clean water. After Jacob Zuma became president in 2009, corruptionWhen someone abuses their power for personal gain. It often involves bribery. became common. Then the next president Cyril Ramaphosa struggled to cope with the chaos.
He hopes to lead the ANC to victory in this electionA vote in which someone is chosen to represent a group of people. . But opinion polls say the party could receive less than 50% of the vote and have to share power.
Is the country on the brink of collapse?
Yes! South Africa has a big problem with corruption and crime. Meanwhile, the power keeps going off. The situation is already very bad.
No! South Africa is a nation full of diverse and hopeful people. Its journalists are free to report on the situation. The country will not collapse like other nations.
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Keywords
Racist - Believing that a person's skin colour makes them better than others.
Apartheid - A system of legally-enshrined racial discrimination and oppression which existed in South Africa from 1948 until the 1990s. It denied non-white South Africans basic human rights.
Corruption - When someone abuses their power for personal gain. It often involves bribery.
Election - A vote in which someone is chosen to represent a group of people.
Mandela legacy at risk as South Africa votes
Father of the nation: 10 years after his death, Nelson Mandela’s ANC party has become a byword for corruption. Glossary
Racist - Believing that a person's skin colour makes them better than others.
Apartheid - A system of legally-enshrined racial discrimination and oppression which existed in South Africa from 1948 until the 1990s. It denied non-white South Africans basic human rights.
Corruption - When someone abuses their power for personal gain. It often involves bribery.
Election - A vote in which someone is chosen to represent a group of people.