SOUTH AFRICA: On a continent characterised by rigged ballots, presidents-for-life and intolerance of dissent, South Africa continues to break the mould - for now.
Its people vote in municipal elections today in the knowledge that most of the 3,600 registered observers come from nations wishing to learn about democracy rather than from those concerned about its absence.
The local government poll - taking place in South Africa's 283 municipalities - has even been afflicted by that most "western" of traits: voter apathy. Advanced research has predicted a turnout of as low as 41 per cent in urban areas - a drop of more than half since the first fully democratic elections in 1994.
Cynicism with the political establishment, a feeling among the former ruling class that their vote counts for little and general dissatisfaction with the pace of progress have all been cited as contributory factors.
There is also concern about the future direction of the ANC, so firmly entrenched in power after bringing an end to the apartheid regime a little over a decade ago.
Patience is growing particularly thin in impoverished townships that are cut off from city hubs of development. Sporadic protests, from road blockages to violent skirmishes, have been taking place over the past year, culminating in this month's riots in Khutsong, near Johannesburg.
Residents from the community went to Pretoria High Court on Monday in an unsuccessful bid to have the elections postponed. They are angry at the government's sudden decision to redraw the provincial borders, moving them from the more urbanised Gauteng to North West Province.
The real cause of discontent, however, is perceived ANC arrogance. Township residents feel their protests about living conditions are being waved away by party bureaucrats, who have been dubbed the "laptop brigade" for their tendency to lecture locals with glossy computer presentations rather than to sit and listen.
The Khutsong residents only learnt about their redesignation after it had taken place and, to add insult to injury, President Thabo Mbeki criticised complainants for failing to move with the times. He also questioned why the issue was getting so much public attention.
"People have a short memory. The violence in KwaZulu-Natal in 1994 was a thousand times worse than Khutsong now," Mbeki said in one of a series of national media interviews.
The president, whose term as head of the ANC is up for renewal next year, has been working hard to soften his image. He "revealed" to one weekend newspaper a new-found interest in golf, to another a passion for early African history.
Yet an abrasive side is never far from surfacing. Despite raising child support by a mere 10 rand (€1.30) a month in the recent budget, he suggested the government was being over-generous in its social spending. "It is incorrect to sit and say we will wait for government to do everything," he told Johannesburg's City Press. "It is clearly wrong to take away a sense of initiative from people."
More telling has been his dismissiveness of the opposition. "Why should people vote for individuals who are not going to constitute government?" he asked. "People want to vote for individuals who will be responsible for service delivery. The only thing an independent can do is oppose." His views are shared by many an African leader but are no less troubling for that.
On a local level, the consequences for democracy can be seen in somewhere like the Cape, the most hotly contested South African municipality. Despite losing the 2000 local election to the Democratic Party and New National Party (NNP), the ANC subsequently regained control of the metro thanks to a predictable bout of "floor-crossing", the official word for often-cowardly mid-term defections.
The NNP, the party that ruled South Africa for 45 years, has since thrown in the towel on opposition altogether. It collapses as an entity into the ANC as of tomorrow, when most of the election results come in and the last NNP councillors officially surrender their seats.
Cape Town will again provide the main interest this year, with the ANC neck and neck in the polls with Democratic Alliance.
Results from other municipalities will be all too predictable, however. From late this evening, the huge countrywide map at Pretoria's national count centre will start registering the first of many ANC victories.
Mbeki can claim some credit for increasing ANC support in the wake of Nelson Mandela's presidency. That said, he seems to be helped by a somewhat sympathetic electorate.
Mbeki admitted to the Pretoria News on Monday that he had received a litany of complaints during canvassing, but "invariably they say 'Mr President . . . despite our complaints we are going to vote ANC anyway'."