FORMER President Jacob Zuma, is emerging as the biggest victor of South Africa’s general elections as his new breakaway uMkhonto we Sizwe Party (MK) appears poised for major gains at the expense of the country’s governing African National Congress.
With more than 90 percent of votes counted on Friday evening, the MK appeared to be on the cusp of grabbing power in KwaZulu Natal, comfortably leading in a province where the ANC has never previously lost since the first post-apartheid elections in 1994.
Nationally, as results trickled in, the MK stood third with approximately 13 percent of the vote, behind the ANC with about 41 percent of the vote and the principal opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (21 percent). The votes counted so far paint a clear picture of the MK winning over chunks of the ANC’s traditional support in its strongholds.
In addition to KwaZulu Natal and the Western Cape — where the DA looked set to return to power with a clear majority — the ANC has also taken a lashing in the province of Gauteng, where it is also far short of a majority of its own.
Over the past two days, these trends have only solidified, and if they persist, the ANC will — for the first time in 30 years — need to plead with some opposition parties to support it in a national coalition government if it is to remain in power under President Cyril Ramaphosa. It will also need to do the same to stay in power in provinces like Gauteng.
These results signal the “death of ANC dominance”, said analyst Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh.
“I think it is good. There is as much hope as there should be fear. People are worried and uncertain of what’s going to happen; it will open new avenues for change and new avenues for accountability,” he said. Mpofu-Walsh said the ANC’s electoral loss was a combination of arrogance and denial of their failures.
Independent political analyst Sandile Swana said the ANC had joined other liberation movements that were punished for failing to deliver on their liberation promises. “Swapo in Namibia, Zanu PF in Zimbabwe and the ANC in South Africa are in exactly the same boat,” he said, referring to the parties that led the independence movements in Namibia and Zimbabwe respectively.
Imraan Buccus, an academic and researcher at Auwal Socio-economic Research Institute, said the election results point to the ANC’s implosion. “It is consistent with what has happened to liberation movements across Africa. There are examples in Zambia and Kenya,” he said.
Buccusa said that a combination of ANC failures and an unequal economy resulted in the election outcome.
According to the World Bank, 55 percent of South Africa’s population is considered to live in poverty. The ANC’s 30 years in office have been characterised by deepening joblessness – currently at 33 percent. Systemic corruption and government inefficiency, resulting in worsened conditions of living, are also among the issues facing South Africans.
