South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) party has been defeated by the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) in local municipal polls in the capital Pretoria.
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“This is the first time that the ruling African National Congress has lost major electoral support since the end of apartheid in 1994”, political analyst Shadrack Gutto told Anadolu Agency Friday.
The Democratic Alliance already runs the city of Cape Town, the country’s second largest and the only major South African city where blacks are not in the majority.
Moreover, the ANC is in danger of losing control of major cities such as Pretoria and Port Elizabeth, depending on the final election results and the negotiations between parties after the vote.
A significant loss of support for the ruling party in these areas could mark a watershed in South African society and politics as the country shifts from what has effectively been a one-party system in the era immediately post-apartheid.
The local elections are being seen as an indication of the mid-term popularity of President Zuma.
The municipal vote comes as Africa’s most industrialised country teeters on the edge of a recession after a string of corruption scandals surrounding Zuma.
Seeking to widen its appeal in the “rainbow nation”, it has been courting ANC supporters before the vote. In Cape Town it has argued that it has been more successful than the ANC with black economic empowerment by the simple strategy of breaking down every possible mega-contract into a number of smaller contracts.
The opposition Democratic Alliance party, which has roots in the anti-apartheid movement and had a white party leader until past year, made a strong move out of its stronghold in the city of Cape Town, winning in at least three of the country’s six largest municipalities.
“The ANC failed to enthuse their voters and give them a credible offer and that is what often happens to parties that have mismanaged the economy, mismanaged the city, but it also says that we are growing as a party”, Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane told the BBC.
The DA will need to form a coalition in order to secure control. In late June, protests in the capital of Pretoria turned to riots that ended in five deaths; two of those killed were looters who were shot dead.
With 99.9 percent of the vote in on Saturday, the ANC secured 54.4 percent support in an August 3 local government election, slipping below the 60 percent mark for the first time since it took power in 1994. The ANC party backed him to defeat an impeachment vote.
Observers say a host of corruption scandals and internal party squabbles are to blame for the ANC’s decline.
“It’s becoming increasingly clear that we will be the majority party here”, said the DA’s Nelson Mandela Bay mayoral candidate, Athol Trollip.
“We’ve shown some incredible growth in these elections and we’re quite excited about that”, said Maimane, whose party has promised to help create jobs and improve social services.
Lihle Spani, a voter in Johannesburg, recalled that black South Africans were unable to vote during apartheid and that voting was a kind of tribute to those who had lacked basic rights.
“We’ve lost Nelson Mandela Bay, we’ve conceded that we’ve lost it”, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa said.
The next general elections are due in 2019 but Mr Zuma can not stand for a third term as president.
By Friday morning, the ANC was still in the lead with 54 per cent, followed by 26 per cent for the DA and seven per cent for the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).
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Many South Africans who queued up to vote said they were anxious about Zuma’s performance and the state of Africa’s most industrialised economy, where only one in four in the labour force is unemployed.
