For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Lumkile Nkomfe.

Making headlines: Ramaphosa expresses readiness for 2024 elections, condemns obstruction of election activities; South Africa's divisive Malema could be post-election kingmaker; And, South African election could spell the end of ANC dominance

Ramaphosa expresses readiness for 2024 elections, condemns obstruction of election activities

President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed South Africa’s readiness to hold the 2024 national and provincial elections, calling on all parties, candidates, supporters and every South African to refrain from any action that could interfere with the due electoral process.

The Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa will administer the special votes expected to be cast on Monday and Tuesday, ahead of election day on Wednesday.

The IEC said more than 1.6-million South Africans have been approved to vote during the special votes. Some 624 593 voters are expected to be visited by IEC staff with the rest expected to visit their voting stations.

Ramaphosa expressed concerns at reports that came out on Sunday about the obstruction of election activities, including unlawful entry at IEC storage sites in KwaZulu-Natal.

South Africa's divisive Malema could be post-election kingmaker

South Africa's Julius Malema, who quit the ruling African National Congress to form a radical leftist Economic Freedom Fighters, could potentially become a kingmaker or even deputy president if the ANC loses its majority in Wednesday's election as polls suggest.

The prospect of the ANC co-opting Malema and his party to stay in power strikes fear into investors and the white upper-middle class he rails against.

The EFF's promises to nationalise the country's gold and platinum mines and seize land from white farmers are among proposals they fear threaten not just their privileges but also Africa's most industrialised economy.

Malema's pledge to redress persistent racial and economic disparities resonates with his constituents which include tens of thousands of unemployed, disenfranchised urban Black youths and middle class students struggling to afford fees or graduates unable to find decent jobs in a stagnant economy.

And, South African election could spell the end of ANC dominance

South Africans will vote on Wednesday with widespread anger over power cuts, joblessness and corruption threatening to end the dominance of the African National Congress, 30 years after Nelson Mandela led it into power.

At no point since world media beamed iconic images of black South African voters queueing to cast ballots for the first time following the end of white-minority rule has the ANC looked so likely to lose its parliamentary majority.

Polls suggest the ANC's share of the vote could fall as low as 40%, compared with 57.5% in 2019, which would force the party into a wobbly coalition with rivals - and potentially expose President Cyril Ramaphosa to a leadership challenge.

Yet a survey released earlier this week by Afrobarometer suggested a third of voters were undecided, making this poll the most unpredictable in South Africa's democratic history.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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