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How digital advertising is shaping political messaging in Africa

Across Africa, political communication is rapidly moving online. Advocacy groups and public institutions now rely heavily on digital platforms to reach voters. Social media…

Voting in Johannesburg’s outer west suburbs on 29 May, 2024.
(Delwyn Verasamy, Mail & Guardian)

Survey finds confidence in electoral outcome has declined

A survey conducted on the day of the elections found fewer than half of people were confident that their votes would be counted accurately, down from 60% in the previous poll

(Graphic: John McCann/M&G)

It’s been a wild ride since 1994, but South Africans must keep on voting

Beyond elections, active citizenship is needed. Voting is just one way to take responsibility for the outcomes of our democracy

The National Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) is urging businesses and employers to ensure that registered voters can cast their vote on 29 May.

Nedlac urges business to ensure employees can vote on 29 May

The National Development and Labour Council says this is to ensure the legitimacy of the government This content is restricted to registered users and subscribers. Get Your Free…

Beliefs: Matters such as Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people and the role of women in society are among the issues that will decide where Muslim voters place their crosses in May’s elections. Photo David Turnley/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images

Who will Muslims vote for?

Few parties align with my beliefs as a follower of Islam and a South African, writes Ozayr Patel

Voting tactically may seem like a realistic, mature option, but it compromises the integrity of your vote and is corrosive to the long-term health of democracy. (Photo by OJ Koloti/Gallo Images via Getty Images)

Local government elections: Why it’s rational to vote with your heart

Voting tactically may seem like a realistic, mature option, but it compromises the integrity of your vote and is corrosive to the long-term health of democracy

DA leader John Steenhuisen. Photo: (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)

Paddy Harper: On gleeful politicians and headless chickens

Paddy Harper doesn’t know who to vote for yet, since the Dagga Party isn’t contesting his ward, but right now what to order for lunch is a more pressing concern

Mandla Mahlangu, a resident of the Seven Seven shack settlement in Mamelodi, Pretoria, stands amid the wreckage left behind by flash floods that hit the area a month before. (Ihsaan Haffejee)

Angry residents say voting has become meaningless

As South Africa gears up for the local government elections on 1 November, disgruntled voters in Tshwane and Ekurhuleni say they have little reason to cast their ballots

Loyal ally: Mzwanele Manyi has remained a staunch supporter of the former president.

Mzwanele Manyi: The Zindzi Mandela of our time

If Jacob Zuma is our Nelson Mandela, what does that leave Mzwanele Manyi?

Another chance. President Faustin Archange Touadera. (Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/Reuters)

Incumbent wins Central African Republic election

The December 27 presidential election, which coincided with legislative polls, took place as a coalition of armed rebel groups renewed an offensive that left thousands unable to…

The National Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) is urging businesses and employers to ensure that registered voters can cast their vote on 29 May.

‘Super-Wednesday’ by-elections: all the data and who is contesting what

In this week’s by-elections, the ANC has the highest number of wards being contested. However, the turnout in some communities in areas in the Vaal district has been low — even…

US President elect Donald Trump.   (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images/AFP)

Trump unlikely to settle for golf

A narrow victory will mean that the election results won’t be settled anytime soon

DETROIT, MI – NOVEMBER 04: Election workers and Election observers and challengers at the Detroit Department of Elections Central Counting Board Voting at TCF Center, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020 in Detroit, MI. With the surge in vote by mail/absentee ballots, analysts cautioned it could take days to count all the ballots, leading some states to initially look like victories for President Trump only to later shift towards democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden.  (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Diary of an elections spotter

Fear and loathing in Trump’s America, where every bit of news can be worse than no news at all

Guinea president Alpha Conde addresses his supporters during a campaign rally in Kissidougou on October 12, 2020. (Carol Valade/AFP)

Guinea’s choice will determine its future for generations

We need the eyes and ears of the international community to be alert to assaults on democracy as we run up to the election on 18 October

Former Zambian president Edgar Lungu

This is how Lungu is planning to rig Zambia’s 2021 general election

The president is trying to amend the Constitution and create a new voters’ roll in a bid to stay in power

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. (Tiksa Negeri/Reuters)

Polls in Ethiopia’s Tigray set to escalate standoff with Abiy

In recent days Abiy’s office has instructed the Ethiopian Broadcasting Authority to call journalists working for foreign media outlets to pressure them not to cover the vote

Electoral reform should be done within the spirit of strengthening our constitutional democracy, encouraging electoral participation, enhancing accountability and embracing the technological advancements. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)

Electoral reform: It’s now or never

The pandemic taught us a new normal. It’s time to apply some of the learnings to our electoral system, which is overdue for an overhaul

Eusebius McKaiser: Dear ANC superfans, let’s talk

ANC superfans are so vested in a romantic vision of a political party with a great past that they struggle to accept the realities of what this party has become.

(John McCann)

Make democracy come alive at schools

Our schools have policies for citizenship education, now they need to provide the contexts necessary for democracy to thrive

Although we admire their growing sense of activism, it is vital to understand where our young people are coming from. (David Harrison/M&G)

Youth are agents of change in our democracy

Young people mobilise around issues that affect their lives and their voice needs to be heard