Sifting through the post-election debris we find a changed political landscape. After a long and controversial path to power, Jacob Zuma is finally President of South Africa. Although winning by a convincing majority, the ANC failed to capture two thirds of the vote, falling just short on 65.9%. This means they are unable to make constitutional amendments without the support of other parties.
The most notable transformation was in the opposition. Major gains were made by the Democratic Alliance, which retains its status as the official opposition after securing 16,5% of the vote. Apart from growing by nearly a million votes on the national level, the DA was also able to capture the Western Cape outright. This is the first time since 1994 that any party has won the province without the need for a coalition and was largely due to the switching loyalty of Coloured voters away from the ANC. Helen Zille is now Premier and this gives the party she leads the chance to demonstrate their ability to govern a province. However, there is still a long way to go before the DA can challenge the dominance of the ANC at the national level.
The Congress of the People (COPE), after a promising birth, has proved disappointing but resilient. Although many pundits predicted COPE would score between 20 – 30% of the vote, it only managed to win 7,42%. COPE suffered from an inchoate leadership tussle as well as a lack of electioneering in the townships and rural areas. It has also struggled to shake its association with the failings of Thabo Mbeki, whose recall as President last September was the catalyst for the formation of the party. However, COPE succeeded in drawing support from across the racial spectrum and has eclipsed the DA as the official opposition in five of the nine provinces. It is still early days for South Africa’s newest political party.
Party |
% of the vote |
Seats in Parliament |
|
African National Congress |
65,9% |
264 seats |
|
Democratic Alliance |
16,66% |
67seats |
|
Congress of the People |
7,42% |
30 seats |
|
Inkatha Freedom Party |
4,55% |
18 seats |
|
Others |
+/- 5% |
21 seats |
Another change is that many of the smaller, interest-specific parties suffered major losses. Patricia de Lille’s Independent Democrats, and Bantu Holomisa’s United Democratic Movement have run aground, winning about 1% of the vote each and both leaders have been rumoured to be considering joining either COPE or the DA. The Minority Front, Freedom Front Plus, ACDP, PAC and AZAPO have all badly haemorrhaged support and their future looks increasingly tenuous.
