South Africa roadtrip: Changing the Cape

By Alexis Akwagyiram
BBC News, Cape Town

The streets of Cape Town are festooned with election posters

"This will be the first election where I'll be able to vote, and I definitely won't be voting for the ANC," says 19-year-old waitress Ngawethu Dlabantu.

"They take so much from the people and most of our ministers aren't qualified for their jobs. I'd rather vote for someone else because I'd like to give another party a chance to see what they could do."

In most parts of South Africa such a vehement stance against the African National Congress might seem out of step with the prevailing mood.

Perhaps even more unthinkable would be Ms Dlabantu's preference for the Democratic Alliance, a party led by a white woman - Helen Zille.

But in Cape Town, the provincial capital of the Western Cape and South Africa's legislative capital, her comments are uncontroversial.

On Long Street, in the bohemian heart of a city whose inhabitants are hemmed in between Table Mountain and the Atlantic Ocean, Ms Dlabantu is simply reciting a well-trodden line of argument.

Asked about the dropped corruption charges against ANC leader Jacob Zuma, her view that "there is no smoke without fire" is one that comes up repeatedly in conversations about politics on the city's streets.

The nature of the Western Cape's ethnic make-up makes the province something of an anomaly in South Africa.

Whereas the ANC enjoys strong support across the country, the ruling party has never enjoyed the same in this province.

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"Demographically, it's the only province in South Africa where people who would be classified as black South Africans would be a minority," says Phillip Dexter, a spokesman for the Congress of the People (Cope) party, formed last year by dissident members of the ANC.

Mr Dexter believes the demographic factor is likely to play a pivotal role in the upcoming elections.

In South Africa as a whole some 80% of the population is black, as compared to 8% who are white and 8% who are classified as coloured - the term used to denote people of multi-racial heritage.

But in the Western Cape, which has a population of just under five million people, the majority of the people are coloured and Afrikaans is the predominant language, followed by English.

"It's always been difficult for the ANC to develop a support base among coloured people. It's always struggled," said Mr Dexter.

"There's a great sense of excitement - this is an interesting time. This is the first time that we have a three-way race - between Cope, the Democratic Alliance (DA) and ANC."

New forces

Speak to people in Cape Town and it quickly becomes clear that the ANC are less popular than elsewhere in the country.

"I haven't made up my mind who I'm going to vote for, but I know I won't vote for the ANC," said Wendy Minnaar, a 22-year-old public relations executive, who said she would welcome "anyone besides the ANC" winning in the province.

I'm feeling hopeful that our slogan 'one nation, one future', isn't just a pipe dream Helen Zille Democratic Alliance

And, again, it is Helen Zille - leader of the DA - who is put forward as a preferred alternative.

Visiting a Cape Town hospital on Friday, Ms Zille said her party aims to unite South Africans from disparate backgrounds.

""I've learnt [during the campaign] that it is possible to pull together a political party that says the same thing to all communities and can draw support from all communities in our complex, plural society," she told the BBC.

"I'm feeling hopeful that our slogan 'one nation, one future', isn't just a pipe dream."

Dianne Kohler-Barnard, of the DA, says Ms Zille's record as mayor of Cape Town has endeared her to its inhabitants and the province in general, providing "an example of what we can do".

"All indications suggest we're in a position where we can win the entire Western Cape," Ms Kohler-Barnard says.

She attributes much of this to what she refers to as the DA's stance as the "party of opportunity" and inclusiveness.

Ms Kohler-Barnard, who is shadow minister for safety and security, says the party is keen to address the widespread fear of crime.

An average of 51 people are murdered in South Africa every day, she says, and about 50,000 rapes are committed each year.

Too much choice?

Whereas the port city of Durban, in KwaZulu-Natal, was covered in ANC posters, it's a very different story in Cape Town, where a dizzying array of smiling politicians beam down from advertising hoardings across the city.

Lawrence Zepe is staying faithful to the ANC he has always supported

Taxi driver Andre De Villiers, 45, believes there is too much choice.

"I think we have far too many political parties. Our opposition to the ANC is split completely," he says.

"It would be great if there were only two parties so that there was a strong opposition to keep the governing party in check."

Like many others in the city, he names poverty, education, crime and healthcare as the dominant issues.

Despite expressing a liking for the DA, he believes it is largely perceived as a "white party", and therefore would have limited influence.

"It would make sense to have a strong opposition black party. You could get a lot more done then," he says, explaining that Cope would probably be a more viable alternative.

Even in this part of South Africa, where there is so much choice and the country's ruling party can be seen as something of an underdog, the ANC still has its backers.

Lifelong ANC supporter Lawrence Zepe, 61, says he loves the party because it brought freedom to the country and its members "stand for freedom".

He also says Jacob Zuma is a "good man" who has been wrongly, and unfairly, accused of crimes he never committed. The ANC leader "understands" his people, says Mr Zepe.

Similarly, clothes shop manager Justin Kaoma argues that people have "short memories" and are guilty of underplaying the role played by the party's activists in the apartheid era.

"I think people have forgotten what the ANC achieved. People have forgotten that they brought us freedom. What more do people want? That's all a person needs. If you want anything else, do it yourself."