Australia and the World Past and Present

South Africans went to the polls in May to decide who will govern for the next few years.

The elections marked a significant shift in the political landscape of the country.

The African National Congress – the grand old party that struggled against Apartheid – still managed to secure the largest number of votes and seats, but it lost the parliamentary majority that it has enjoyed for the last 30 years.

The Democratic Alliance, a party sometimes described as ‘centrist’ had the second best result.

The disruptor of the election was the new party of the block – uMkhonto weSizwe. The party is less than a year old. The head of the party, Jacob Zuma, was a long-time ANC politician and a former President of South Africa. Zuma became embroiled in corruption allegations during his Presidency. The name the party chose was controversial as it had historically been associated with the ANC. uMkhonto weSizwe had been the ANC military wing. The ANC challenged the new use of the name but their case was dismissed by the Electoral Court of South Africa in March.

The National Assembly has 400 seats.

The ANC garnered 40% of the vote.

In KwaZulu Natal, Zuma’s party fared better than the ANC.

The Democratic Alliance was very strong in the south-west of the country (including Cape Town).

On the national ballot, the ANC secured 73 seats, the Democratic Alliance won 42 and uMkhonto weSizwe took 31.

Although the ANC result was down overall, they did well in some areas. For example, they achieved a whopping 73.4% of the vote in Limpopo Province.

Issues:

The ANC has been pushing to phase out private health insurance. The Democratic Alliance opposes such a move. They question whether the state is the best provider of health insurance. They point to the disasters of the state-run energy and water sectors and don’t have confidence in the state to fix the problem.

Crime is an ongoing issue in the country as is corruption and some have proposed setting up of Anti-Corruption Commission.

South Africa is experiencing an ongoing energy crisis. Production is unreliable and is having real knock-on effects for business and employment. The Democratic Alliance has argued for less state control of the sector.

Another issue has been land reform. The ANC has previously attempted to change section 25 of the Constitution but the move didn’t get through the parliament. The ANC wants to be able to expropriate land without compensation and this something the DA opposes.

The 2024 election represents a fundamental shift in the politics of the Rainbow Nation. The ANC has dominated the field for the last three decades. But many voters believe that the ANC is struggling to manage many of the issues facing the country right now. They are willing to roll the dice and see whether a different political alignment will produce better results.