'Apartheid toilets' become battleground in South African local elections

The symbol that might be the defining image of the 2011 South African local elections will be made of porcelain.



The toilet, of all services government is supposed to deliver, has become the focal point of unceasing quarrels between the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and the Democratic Alliance (DA), which is looking to become a more forceful opposition.

The ANC accused the DA of failing to enclose toilets built in a municipality under its control. The DA shot back, saying the residents were supposed to build their own privacy walls. The ANC responded that it would never let down the under-classes of South African society, its core supporters. It has accused the DA of being a white party.


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The head of the DA, Helen Zille, a white woman, is often referred to by leading ANC figures as a 'madam' and the black members of her party as 'boys' or 'stooges,' harking back to apartheid language. Over 23.1 million South Africans are eligible to vote in 278 municipalities for 4,275 ward and 460 proportional representation seats today. Over 120 parties are fielding 53,000 candidates.