South Africa’s election could bring the biggest political shift since it became a democracy in 1994

By GERALD IMRAY
Associated Press

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South Africans will vote Wednesday to decide whether their country takes its most significant political step since it brought down apartheid and achieved democracy 30 years ago. This national election will not be as momentous as the one South Africa held in 1994. Then, Nelson Mandela led the African National Congress to victory as Black South Africans were allowed to vote for the first time. It officially ended the racial segregation of apartheid. The ANC has governed ever since, but now rising discontent with it could result in the party losing its majority for the first time, in a new landmark for South Africa’s young democracy.