SA unlikely to see disruptions, violence on election day - Kriegler
Veteran judicial activist and former Constitutional Court Justice Johann Kriegler is confident the upcoming elections will be free and fair.
Kriegler spoke at a briefing for election observers hosted by the Defend Our Democracy on Thursday.
South Africa is less than a week away from the national and provincial elections.
Political parties continue to crisscross the country in an effort to secure votes ahead of the polls.
South Africa's 27 million registered voters go to the polls for general elections on May 29, in what is expected to be the closest vote in three decades of democracy.
More than 50 parties are vying to win seats in parliament, which will then appoint a president.
Kriegler said that while the 2024 elections are the most contested, it has also been the most peaceful.
"Our civil society has matured tremendously, there is a general acceptance of the discipline of democracy.
"Winners win; they do not win all, but they win control. Losers lose; they don’t lose all but retain their power as opposition in the political spectrum. At the moment, it is a little more difficult than it has ever been because we have a multitude of competitors and a multitude of losers.
"There are some 14,000 candidates looking for office, and I think only some 1,800 of them can actually hope to be elected anywhere. That means there will be many disgruntled losers and yet I have no fear that we will have serious disruptions in this country.
"We have accepted the judgments of our courts, the rulings of our electoral commission, we have a competent electoral commission, judiciary and electorate. All will go well," he said.
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