South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC) conceded defeat on Friday in the city of Port Elizabeth as local election results underlined the declining popularity of the party that led the anti-apartheid struggle.
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With over 80 per cent of ballots counted on a national basis, the ruling party had won 56 per cent of the vote, compared to 24 per cent for the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA).
The election commission said the leftist Economic Freedom Fighters polled 5 percent, with smaller parties sharing the rest. But it has also claimed an ANC stronghold in the Eastern Cape community near Mandela’s hometown, Port Elizabeth, and is neck and neck with the ANC for political control of the capitol city of Pretoria and Johannesburg.
“We are now going to do an introspective look at ourselves”, said Cyril Ramaphosa, vice president of the ANC and the country.
Voters, facing a lack of jobs and poor basic services, have been incensed by a string of corruption scandals that have engulfed Zuma. However, while the slow process of counting continued on Thursday and Friday, there was light-hearted banter between leaders of various political parties as they milled around the floor of the IEC results operation centre in Tshwane.
Scandals swirling around Zuma have also hurt the ANC. Opposition groups have seized on the revelation that the state paid more than $20 million for upgrades to Zuma’s private home.
BNP Baripas political analyst Nic Boraine said the DA’s strategy was geared towards the 2019 presidential and parliamentary elections.
Bushbuckridge Local Municipality – The ANC is in the lead with 74,75 percent, BRA on 11,38 per cent and the EFF on 6,22 per cent.
The ANC has won more than 60% of the vote in every election since 1994, but have fallen below 55% in this election.
ANC parliamentary whip Jackson Mthembu, said the losses for the post-apartheid party – once headed by late President Nelson Mandela – were a “worrying trend”.
Fitch and S&P rate South Africa’s sovereign debt a notch above subinvestment.
For any party to run the municipality, it needs at least 50% of the council to vote in its favour and as such a coalition government seems to be on the cards as things stand.
Correspondents say a poor ANC performance could embolden Mr Zuma’s rivals within the party to challenge him. “It’s good for our democracy”, Mmusi Maimane, the DA’s first black leader, said.
Yet local elections this week have shown a shift in South African society and politics, which have been dominated by race since Mandela swept to power in 1994.
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“We will wait for those who are interested to approach us and then we will take the discussion from there”, Malema told reporters. The EFF leader is deeply respectful of the veteran leader and has often said he derives inspiration and guidance from her. Earlier this year, he said Madikizela-Mandela had given her support to the EFF “to continue fighting for a better South Africa”.
