South African opposition leader Steenhuisen tells voters 'help is on the way'

The leader of South Africa's biggest opposition party urged voters on Sunday to vote for his party because it does not offer empty promises, days away from an election which could see the ruling African National Congress (ANC) lose its majority for the first time. The Democratic Alliance (DA), which won the second-largest share of the vote in the last election, urged supporters to use their pens to close the ANC chapter, which he said was riddled with "unemployment, corruption and misrule", and write a new one when they cast their vote on May 29.

The leader of South Africa's biggest opposition party urged voters on Sunday to vote for his party because it does not offer empty promises, days away from an election which could see the ruling African National Congress (ANC) lose its majority for the first time.

The Democratic Alliance (DA), which won the second-largest share of the vote in the last election, urged supporters to use their pens to close the ANC chapter, which he said was riddled with "unemployment, corruption and misrule", and write a new one when they cast their vote on May 29. "Unlike all other parties in this election, the DA doesn't make promises about what we will do one day. We show you the evidence of what we are already doing today," DA leader John Steenhuisen told supporters, who donned the party's blue colours.

The pro-business DA runs the provincial government of Western Cape, home to the popular tourist city of Cape Town. "The DA did not appear out of nowhere to promise you the sun, the moon and sky, he added.

Election polls expect the ANC to lose its parliamentary majority for the first time since struggle icon Nelson Mandela was voted into power in 1994 at the end of apartheid. The DA has formed a pact with some smaller parties to try to capture the more than 50% of the vote needed to form a government, which include the Zulu nationalist Inkatha Freedom Party and ActionSA, a party led by a former mayor of Johannesburg, the country's economic hub.

"I am here today to tell you one thing, help is on the way!," Steenhuisen said. (Editing by Nqobile Dludla and Toby Chopra)

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