A vote of defiance: In South Africa, it is a vote for or against ANC

South Africans in the rural areas of the eastern KwaZulu-Natal province must cross hilly terrain with little infrastructure to reach nearest polling stations in what is shaping up to be a pivotal general election for the country.

At stake is the three-decade dominance of the African National Congress party, which led South Africa out of apartheid’s brutal white minority rule in 1994. It is now the target of a new generation of discontent in a country of 62 million people — half of whom are estimated to be living in poverty.

Thembekile Ngema, 72, who treaded a 20 minute dirt path to reach her nearest polling station, tells the Associated Press about the frustrations with the…