UDM leader Bantu Holomisa casts his vote in Pretoria. (Alex Mitchley, News24)
Speaking out against one-party dominance, United Democratic Movement (UDM) leader Bantu Holomisa said any support that the ANC loses would be good for the country.
Casting his vote at Arcadia Primary School in Tshwane on Wednesday morning, Holomisa said one-party dominance was not good for a democracy.
"If the ANC continues to lose people, it's good for our democracy because automatically, you are improving the checks and balances which will force them not to dominate the politics in this country," Holomisa said. "What we need to avoid is one-party dominance. One-party dominance breeds corruption, which we have seen in the last 10 years."
Holomisa believes that the ANC will lose some of its support because of state capture allegations that have surfaced in recent years.
"If one judges what has been said in the media, I think the people of South Africa are fed up with the people who claim to be liberators of this country, yet they are participating in looting the resources of this country. It's an embarrassment.
"It (ANC) will be punished, definitely by the middle class, I'm not sure about the lower levels because people there are always threatened [by the idea] that if you don't vote for the ANC, they will take away your grant."
The UDM leader added that voters would have to consider who they can trust to take South Africa forward and who successfully addresses issues such as unemployment and the faltering economy.
"Who do we think will have the better ingredient to take us out of the quagmire," Holomisa said.
Omphemetse Mokgatlhe, who also cast her vote at Arcadia Primary School, said she hoped her vote would bring change.
"I'm looking forward [to voting] for a change because as South Africa we are being deprived of so many things," Mokgatlhe said.
Chane Poggenpoel said she hoped the electorate would come out in their numbers to vote for change.
"I have hope for this country and believe that every vote counts," she said.
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