Economy and COVID-19 pandemic dominate campaigns ahead of November 1 polls.
![Several non-local government-related issues have been used by [File: Mike Hutchings/Reuters]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/RTXIXCE7.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
![As the world grapples with the emergence of the new variant, scientists in South Africa are scrambling to combat its spread [Denis Farrell/AP]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/SAfrica.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
Economy and COVID-19 pandemic dominate campaigns ahead of November 1 polls.
Violence rocking South Africa is driven by economic inequality and poverty as well as by politics, analysts say.
![Some 200 malls and shopping centres countrywide have been affected by the violence and forced to close [Themba Hadebe/AP Photo]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/AP21194393215347-e1626336025189.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
Hospitals overrun as infections spiral, prompting authorities to tighten coronavirus restrictions.
![A health worker checks the temperature of an elderly patient at the emergency entrance of the Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Pretoria [File: Themba Hadebe/AP Photo]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/AP_21011668545141.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
As cases drop, president announces easing of restrictions and calls on country to ‘get to work rebuilding’ the economy.
With fifth-highest coronavirus caseload globally, South Africa braces for peak-infection period amid graft allegations.
President says some sectors will partially reopen on May 1 but urges citizens to stay home to slow coronavirus spread.
South Africa’s coronavirus figures are still relatively low but officials and experts warn against complacency.
Protests and activism began after 19-year-old Nene Mrwetyana was murdered in August.
After wave of xenophobic violence, many foreign nationals say they do not feel welcome and fear for their safety.
