Preparing for battle in Zulu heartland

South Africa: Declan Walsh, in Nongoma, sees some old rivals limbering for an election showdown

On the eve of the great battle, the Zulus made a final show of force.Thousands of animal-skin clad warriors flocked into the field, brandishing spears and shields. Dancing in unison, ancient songs filled the air. Their regal leader, who sat silently over the commotion, watched as cattle and sheep were given in tribute.

"This is our nation," declared Petros Mdlentshe, a pot-bellied pensioner wearing an impala-skin loincloth, ostrich feathers and white tennis shoes.

His dress recalled the great Zulu heroes who fought off British colonists in the 19th century. But this battle was about votes, not violence.

South Africa goes to the polls tomorrow for the third democratic elections since the end of apartheid a decade ago.

President Thabo Mbeki's African National Congress party is predicted to scoop a landslide victory, with as much as two-thirds of the vote. But here in KwaZulu-Natal - one of just two provinces it does not control outright - the ANC has a bitter fight on its hands.

It is struggling for supremacy with the Zulu nationalist Inkatha Freedom Party. As democracy dawned in 1994, supporters from both parties clashed violently, claiming an estimated 20,000 lives. But this time peace has dawned in the restive province.

Yesterday the IFP held its climactic rally in Nongoma, a remote, hilltop town where Zulu royalty once sat. Buses streamed into a field by the cattle mart, packed with supporters who came to hear their leader, Mangosuthu Buthelezi. The longtime politician and Zulu prince is a relic of the apartheid past. As leader of the KwaZulu "homeland" he was seen as a collaborator with racist white rulers who corralled blacks into impoverished corners of South Africa.

In recent years he joined in coalition with the ANC government, becoming home affairs minister. But since some bad-tempered exchanges with Mr Mbeki that culminated in a court case, their relationship has soured badly.

Addressing the cheering crowd in Nongoma, Mr Buthelezi castigated the ANC as "authoritarian" and highlighted its failings after 10 years in power - the HIV/AIDS scourge, unemployment, poverty and crime. "They practise the politics of ideology and broken promises," he said.

But in reality it is tribe, not issues, that matter most for many Zulus. Many see the ANC has being dominated by the Xhosa tribe, and cling doggedly to the Inkatha party. In Nongoma, for example, the IFP took 92 per cent of the vote - a result activists predict will be repeated tomorrow.

"The ANC will never rule this province. Here we are behind just one party - and that stretches back to King Shaka," said Nkosinathi Eric in reference to the 19th- century Zulu leader.

The ANC has launched a concerted drive to break the IFP stranglehold. It deployed the party top brass - including Mr Mbeki and his deputy Jacob Zuma - to personally seek the Zulu vote.

Meanwhile, Mr Buthelezi has engaged in an unlikely alliance with the white-dominated Democratic Alliance party in a bid to win 30 per cent of the vote nationwide.

Pollsters give the ANC a marginal advantage, and analysts feel its drive just might pay off. "They are in with a good chance," said Ashwin Desai of the University of Natal.

Whoever wins, the result should be a victory for South Africa's maturing democracy. Only a decade ago, the province was awash with bloodshed as rival ANC and IFP supporters clashed in urban townships. This campaign has seen a handful of incidents - three ANC and two INF activists died in recent days - but fears of widespread violence have not been realised. Campaigners from both sides have canvassed in previous "no-go" areas.

The calm was cemented by thousands of armed police officers and soldiers, sent in with helicopter support to keep the peace.

"This election shows that everything is possible. It's good news," said Nhlanhla Mtaka of the Institute of Democracy in South Africa think-tank.

Nevertheless there are still worries about trouble flaring, particularly in IFP strongholds.

Mr Buthelezi, who claimed the ANC rigged some of the vote in 1999, said yesterday he feared a repeat of the alleged cheating.

Senior electoral commission officials were biased in favour of the ANC, he alleged, adding that "if there is evidence of cheating, I will not accept the results".

But analysts say the large police presence, combined with new checks and balances in the electoral system, should counter such accusations on polling day.