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Nelson Mandela must be turning in his grave at the state of South Africa
As voters go to the polls in a pivotal election, corruption is rife in the Rainbow Nation and faith in democracy waning, writes Peter Hain. While the ANC struggles to retain its parliamentary majority after three decades of dysfunctional rule, there is one glimmer of hope
Wednesday 29 May 2024 09:50 BST
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Thirty years ago, I returned to the country from which my parents had been unwillingly exiled to witness constitutional apartheid being exorcised.
A British parliamentary observer stationed in Soweto, I marvelled as thousands of black citizens streamed out of a dawn haze to vote: elderly women and young men high-fiving to celebrate South Africa’s first-ever democratic election.
Today, as the country goes to the polls, the mood is very different.
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