Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters

30 years since the end of apartheid

South Africans will mark the 30th anniversary of the first post-apartheid elections tomorrow.

Just a month later, on May 29, they will be voting in a national election that could bring about a big shift: The African National Congress, which has governed for those three decades, could lose its majority for the first time.

“It almost feels impossible to separate the election year from the major anniversary year,” my colleague Lynsey Chutel, who reports from Johannesburg, told me.

“The anniversary is forcing not just parties but also South Africans to reflect: What do the last 30 years mean to us?’” she added. “‘And how do we get back that political optimism and economic strength?”

How does the legacy of apartheid shape life in South Africa today?

Lynsey: If you’re walking down the streets of a suburb in Johannesburg, you can look around at the gains made. It’s a leafy suburb. There are sidewalk cafes. People are chatting.

But the majority of people who are enjoying that progress are white. And the majority of people who are servers or in low-wage jobs are Black. Black South Africans simply haven’t caught up in terms of wealth.

Let’s fast-forward to next month’s election. What is the mood?

The A.N.C.’s popularity is possibly at its lowest, and it has never had to work so hard to convince South Africans to vote for them. Some young people see this vote as being as pivotal as 1994. Many are deeply disillusioned. High unemployment and corruption scandals have eroded their faith in politicians.

Opposition parties are stepping up and saying, “We are finally in a place where we think we can lead now.”

That is a huge shift from 1994, which felt like an affirmation of Nelson Mandela and his party, and the end of apartheid. This year, the mood among the voters I’ve spoken to is, how do we use the elections to get the country back on track and take advantage of that post-apartheid freedom.