South Africa: Starting Over

This week’s national election in South Africa will be the sixth in country's history since the end of the apartheid regime in 1994. The last five years have been a politically turbulent time. President Jacob Zuma was forced to resign on the basis of corruption charges. In December 2017, the former anti-apartheid activist Cyril Ramaphosa – a favourite of Nelson Mandela's – was voted in as thkie new head of the ruling African National Congress (ANC). He subsequently took office as the country’s fifth president and now leads the ANC in its bid for a new election mandate. In his campaign, Ramaphosa pledged to renew the party, boost economic growth and reduce inequalities in the continent’s most advanced economy. However, the new president will also have to deal with thorny issues such as the hotly debated land reform and the spread of anti-immigrant xenophobic violence. Will the upcoming elections ensure new political stability for South Africa? And will the country move forward in the recovery of its leading regional role and international standing?