Johannesburg // South Africa’s ruling African National Congress suffered a historic defeat in the country’s capital to the opposition Democratic Alliance in local elections.
In Tshwane, the metropolitan area that includes Pretoria, DA won 43.1 per cent of the vote over the ANC’s 41.2 per cent, according to final results in elections highlighting the declining popularity of the party that led the anti-apartheid struggle.
The loss of Pretoria comes on top of the ANC conceding defeat on Friday in Port Elizabeth, a key battleground of Wednesday’s municipal election.
Defeat in Port Elizabeth by a margin of 46.7 to 40 per cent was a humiliating blow for the ANC as the municipality is officially known as “Nelson Mandela Bay” in tribute to its past as a hotbed of anti-apartheid activism.
The showings have prompted speculation over the future of President Jacob Zuma.
At the national level ANC remains the nation’s top party. However, the party Mandela once headed has seen a slump in support after landing a national tally of 58.3 per cent of votes, a plunge of eight points from 2011.
DA leader Mmusi Maimane hailed the result as a landmark for his party.
“This is a tipping point for the people of South Africa,” he said. “This represents for all of us the fact that we are a party not only of opposition but of government.”
Turnout was about 58 per cent as voters chose mayors and other local representatives responsible for vital issues including water, sanitation and power supplies.
Problems providing such basics trigger regular and sometimes violent “service delivery” protests in South Africa, where harsh socio-economic divisions remain a grim legacy of the apartheid era.
The setback to the ANC “happened quicker and harder than everyone thought! It’s a shocker for everyone,” said independent political analyst Ralph Mathekga of the worst poll result for the party since the end of white-minority rule 22 years ago.
Vice-president and party deputy leader Cyril Ramaphosa said the ANC would heed the electorate’s message.
“Clearly our people are sending out messages all around, we are going to listen very, very carefully. We are a listening organisation, we are going to listen to our people,” said Mr Ramaphosa.
Ahead of final results, the ANC was still struggling to hold on to its outright majority in Johannesburg, the country’s economic centre.
The position of Mr Zuma, 74, as head of state is coming under question even though his mandate still has three years to run after a poll widely seen as a referendum on a leader plagued by scandals since taking office in 2009.
One revolves around his using US$500,000 (Dh1.4bn) of public money to refurbish his private home in Kwazulu-Natal, money the Constitutional Court says he must repay.
MrMaimane, the DA’s first black leader, had indicated before results began to come in that the polls were good for democracy.
“It says the democratic process is working,” he said.
An unemployment rate of 27 per cent and zero GDP growth forecast for this year have added to Mr Zuma’s woes as frustration builds among poor black communities seeing scarce improvements since apartheid fell.
However, Mr Zuma, jailed on Robben Island with Mandela during apartheid, retains deep loyalty inside the ANC and in many rural areas, although he cannot stand for a third term.
*Agence France-Presse
