The DA and other Multi-Party Charter parties believe the ANC's expected drop to below 50% presents opportunities -- but also risks.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has written to Western governments, urging them to help the opposition counter threats of domestic and foreign interference in the 29 May national and provincial elections.

The letter to the foreign ministers of the G7 industrialised nations, the European Union and four Nordic countries asks them for support in observing the elections, voter education and establishing a parallel vote tabulation (PVT) system.

The ANC has countered that it might invite more of its "own friends" to observe the election too.

The letter, written by the DA's international relations spokesperson Emma Powell, warns that the expected drop in the ANC's national support to well below 50% for the first time -- and its possible loss of some provinces -- "presents both significant risks as well as opportunities".

It notes that "as the ruling elite grow more desperate to retain electoral support ahead of the upcoming elections, they may be willing to put their narrow political interests ahead of our country's broader interests and sacred constitutional values".

It was a follow-up letter to a similar one which the 11 leaders of the DA-led Multi-Party Charter (MPC) wrote to the foreign ministers of the G7 nations and the EU...