Tens of thousands of supporters dressed in yellow, green and black gathered for the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party's final rally in Johannesburg, South Africa's largest city, ahead of next week's crucial general election.
Some 28 million registered voters will cast their ballots on Wednesday, in a move that could see the ANC fail to win a majority in the National Assembly for the first time in 30 years. Polls suggest the ANC could win less than 50 percent of the vote.
If the predictions are accurate, it would mean President Cyril Ramaphosa will need to strike a deal with one or more coalition partners to form a government and retain the country's top office.
The biggest issues at play in Africa's most advanced economy include sky-high unemployment, violent crime, deteriorating public infrastructure and stark economic inequality.
“We gather here carrying with us the hopes and aspirations of millions of our people… to declare that together we will do more and we will do better,” Ramaphosa told supporters at the FNB stadium on Saturday. In comments broadcast on national television, he said the ANC would focus on getting more South Africans into work, tackling the high cost of living, maintaining existing social grants and progressively implementing a basic income support grant for the unemployed.
ANC Justice Minister Ronald Lamola was confident his party would win.
“It is because of the amount of work we have done in the last eight years: we have improved people's lives, [including] electrical connection, water and also the economy has grown in [terms of] GDP and we are the only organization that can continue the transformation of our society,” Lamola told Al Jazeera.
