In the spring of 1994, South Africa overcame mountainous obstacles to end apartheid and elect Nelson Mandela as its first black president. Twenty years later, it’s facing many more challenges, this time without the leadership of the man who united and healed a nation bitterly divided. Mandela left behind a legacy of democracy that in a generation transformed South Africa from a country of institutionalized racism and oppression to one of universal suffrage, free speech, and equality under the law. His African National Congress (ANC) party has been the symbol of democratic South Africa since its first sweeping victory in 1994, but without Mandela, its status as the party of political, social, and economic progress faces competition from the country’s growing opposition groups.
Since Mandela’s triumph in 1994, the ANC has consistently held a majority of seats in Parliament, ushering a string of party leaders into the presidency. During these two decades, major welfare expansions have reduced the poverty rate, delivery of utilities has become more widespread and reliable, and political institutions have proven relatively effective in upholding constitutional freedoms. Yet while the ANC remains synonymous with the anti-apartheid movement, one-party rule is hardly synonymous with democracy, and a growing number of South Africans appear to believe that a strong opposition party or united coalition is exactly what the country needs to preserve and expand Mandela’s legacy.
Since Mandela’s triumph in 1994, the ANC has consistently held a majority of seats in Parliament, ushering a string of party leaders into the presidency. During these two decades, major welfare expansions have reduced the poverty rate, delivery of utilities has become more widespread and reliable, and political institutions have proven relatively effective in upholding constitutional freedoms. Yet while the ANC remains synonymous with the anti-apartheid movement, one-party rule is hardly synonymous with democracy, and a growing number of South Africans appear to believe that a strong opposition party or united coalition is exactly what the country needs to preserve and expand Mandela’s legacy.
“Don’t leave your base behind”
President Mandela championed South Africa’s working class, and the country’s major unions have supported the ANC in election after election. However, according to Harvard anthropology professor John Comaroff, “While Mandela was the spirit of the anti-apartheid movement and of the ANC’s golden era … heroic struggle movements very rarely make heroic political parties.” With 36 percent of South Africans unemployed, ten percent of whom are discouraged job seekers, the ANC may no longer possess the leadership needed to move the country forward. In 2012, rather than compromise with long-time supporters, President Jacob Zuma’s government ordered police to break up a mining strike in Marikana, resulting in the deaths of 34 miners. And only 10 days after President Mandela’s death, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), the country’s largest union, pulled its support for the ANC, stating that it no longer believed the party was truly advocating for the working class.
President Mandela championed South Africa’s working class, and the country’s major unions have supported the ANC in election after election. However, according to Harvard anthropology professor John Comaroff, “While Mandela was the spirit of the anti-apartheid movement and of the ANC’s golden era … heroic struggle movements very rarely make heroic political parties.” With 36 percent of South Africans unemployed, ten percent of whom are discouraged job seekers, the ANC may no longer possess the leadership needed to move the country forward. In 2012, rather than compromise with long-time supporters, President Jacob Zuma’s government ordered police to break up a mining strike in Marikana, resulting in the deaths of 34 miners. And only 10 days after President Mandela’s death, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), the country’s largest union, pulled its support for the ANC, stating that it no longer believed the party was truly advocating for the working class.
The ANC has long been in a political coalition with the South African Communist Party and the Congress of South African Trade Unions, which has allowed it to control the presidency. But discord between major unions and the government, including the loss of NUMSA’s support before elections in May, suggests that the union-backed coalition—and the ANC’s parliamentary majority—may be unstable. Ironically, if a lot of voters now stay home this election cycle, Comaroff predicts, it “will play to the ANC’s favor. Fewer voters translates to a larger ANC majority in Parliament.”
“I am fundamentally an optimist”
As the ANC faces declining support, more South Africans are turning to the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA). The DA has its stronghold in the Western Cape, where party leader Helen Zille is the current premier and where the party has also experienced significant national growth in the last three election cycles, with a 50 percent increase in votes in the 2009 elections. This growing support seems connected to the party’s platform on several issues Mandela and the ANC once championed. The DA supports expanding local police units to fight crime; it has developed models for training new teachers and securing resources for poor school districts; and it seeks to make quality healthcare more readily accessible to all, with an emphasis on increasing HIV/AIDS testing and medication availability.
South Africa’s ambassador to the United States, Ebrahim Rasool, defended the ANC’s approach to these issues to the HPR: “Mandela knew reconciliation had to happen before economic equality. Now we have to transition our focus from political to economic rights and shift from quantitative to qualitative goals.” There is in fact some agreement between the ANC and the DA on economic policy, as MP Sejamothopo Motau, Shadow Minister of Economic Development for the DA, told the HPR, “The [government’s] 2012 National Development Plan [states]: ‘The long-term solution to skewed ownership and control is to grow the economy rapidly and spread opportunities for black people. Improving standards of education, providing better support for entrepreneurs, and focusing on career mobility and work place training are ways to deal with these structural weaknesses.’ The DA concurs fully with these goals, and we will work very hard to turn them into reality.”
However, the DA’s proposal to change the presidential electoral process is not receiving bipartisan support. The party supports changing the constitution so that the president is directly elected by voters, rather than by the majority coalition of the newly elected National Assembly. Comaroff explained, “The DA’s call for direct presidential elections is [meant] to create a fissure between the executive and the legislature. A direct election is dangerous for the ANC. Why give up control over an institution when you have it completely locked?”
Mr. Rasool supported this analysis: “The DA’s proposal is premised on what they perceive to be weaknesses in the incumbents. There is still a groundswell of support for the ANC, just not necessarily for its president. But, I do not think the system will change, and I do not think Mandela would encourage the personality politics motivating this proposal.”
“I am fundamentally an optimist”
As the ANC faces declining support, more South Africans are turning to the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA). The DA has its stronghold in the Western Cape, where party leader Helen Zille is the current premier and where the party has also experienced significant national growth in the last three election cycles, with a 50 percent increase in votes in the 2009 elections. This growing support seems connected to the party’s platform on several issues Mandela and the ANC once championed. The DA supports expanding local police units to fight crime; it has developed models for training new teachers and securing resources for poor school districts; and it seeks to make quality healthcare more readily accessible to all, with an emphasis on increasing HIV/AIDS testing and medication availability.
South Africa’s ambassador to the United States, Ebrahim Rasool, defended the ANC’s approach to these issues to the HPR: “Mandela knew reconciliation had to happen before economic equality. Now we have to transition our focus from political to economic rights and shift from quantitative to qualitative goals.” There is in fact some agreement between the ANC and the DA on economic policy, as MP Sejamothopo Motau, Shadow Minister of Economic Development for the DA, told the HPR, “The [government’s] 2012 National Development Plan [states]: ‘The long-term solution to skewed ownership and control is to grow the economy rapidly and spread opportunities for black people. Improving standards of education, providing better support for entrepreneurs, and focusing on career mobility and work place training are ways to deal with these structural weaknesses.’ The DA concurs fully with these goals, and we will work very hard to turn them into reality.”
However, the DA’s proposal to change the presidential electoral process is not receiving bipartisan support. The party supports changing the constitution so that the president is directly elected by voters, rather than by the majority coalition of the newly elected National Assembly. Comaroff explained, “The DA’s call for direct presidential elections is [meant] to create a fissure between the executive and the legislature. A direct election is dangerous for the ANC. Why give up control over an institution when you have it completely locked?”
Mr. Rasool supported this analysis: “The DA’s proposal is premised on what they perceive to be weaknesses in the incumbents. There is still a groundswell of support for the ANC, just not necessarily for its president. But, I do not think the system will change, and I do not think Mandela would encourage the personality politics motivating this proposal.”
Still, holding the national government more accountable to the people will be critical in fortifying the strength of South Africa’s democracy, especially with the ANC swimming in allegations of corruption, cronyism, and labor disputes during a period of slow economic growth. President Zuma has come under fire regarding $20.8 million in state funds spent on security upgrades to his personal residence, and other high-ranking ANC officials have been implicated in misappropriating state funds. Despite these allegations, the DA and other opposition parties face an uphill battle in a post-Mandela South Africa. Comaroff quipped, “In remote villages, people still hang Zuma pictures on trees.” MP Dr. Wilmot James, Shadow Minister of Trade and Industry for the DA, also acknowledged this point to the HPR: “Many disillusioned ANC voters are not ready to move their support to another party.” Indeed, voter registration and turnout for national elections has dropped significantly—by almost 30 percent since 1994—but the ANC majority has persisted.
Thus, Mandela remains important to the DA’s political message. Dr. James iterated, “We have made it a core part of our election message to tell voters that we share Mandela’s vision for a better life for all South Africans, but that the ANC is no longer the best vehicle to realize this vision. The DA is working hard to win the trust of such voters by demonstrating how we have improved the lives of ordinary South Africans … where we govern.” This is, in fact, “a good selling point for the DA,” as Mr. Motau put it. “Most South Africans, including many in the national government, readily admit things are working in the [DA-controlled] Western Cape.”
“Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great”
The political trajectory of South Africa in a post-Mandela world remains uncertain. What is clear is that his legacy belongs not to the ANC, but to each individual South African. Barring extraordinary campaigning by the DA, the ANC will remain a dominant force in the country’s political landscape for many elections to come. But it must face its own internal issues before it can carry on Mandela’s legacy, which, Mr. Rasool emphasized, “is not simply a set of laws or policies. Rather, it is the constitutional balance he struck between political, social, and economic rights, premised on a society that takes responsibility for its most vulnerable.” Comaroff went further, saying, “Mandela stood for a particular combination of nationalism, liberalism, and Marxism, and he transcended the contradiction of fusing those views together.” Indeed, the idea of containing President Mandela’s life’s work within a single political party contradicts his efforts to make South Africa a better country for all its citizens. Right now, South Africa needs leaders who will tackle unemployment, healthcare, education, and land reform. Where these people come from is not important; Mandela’s legacy is open to anyone who wants to help move South Africa forward. It will certainly be an uphill battle, but, as Mandela himself remarked, “It always seems impossible until it is done.”
Thus, Mandela remains important to the DA’s political message. Dr. James iterated, “We have made it a core part of our election message to tell voters that we share Mandela’s vision for a better life for all South Africans, but that the ANC is no longer the best vehicle to realize this vision. The DA is working hard to win the trust of such voters by demonstrating how we have improved the lives of ordinary South Africans … where we govern.” This is, in fact, “a good selling point for the DA,” as Mr. Motau put it. “Most South Africans, including many in the national government, readily admit things are working in the [DA-controlled] Western Cape.”
“Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great”
The political trajectory of South Africa in a post-Mandela world remains uncertain. What is clear is that his legacy belongs not to the ANC, but to each individual South African. Barring extraordinary campaigning by the DA, the ANC will remain a dominant force in the country’s political landscape for many elections to come. But it must face its own internal issues before it can carry on Mandela’s legacy, which, Mr. Rasool emphasized, “is not simply a set of laws or policies. Rather, it is the constitutional balance he struck between political, social, and economic rights, premised on a society that takes responsibility for its most vulnerable.” Comaroff went further, saying, “Mandela stood for a particular combination of nationalism, liberalism, and Marxism, and he transcended the contradiction of fusing those views together.” Indeed, the idea of containing President Mandela’s life’s work within a single political party contradicts his efforts to make South Africa a better country for all its citizens. Right now, South Africa needs leaders who will tackle unemployment, healthcare, education, and land reform. Where these people come from is not important; Mandela’s legacy is open to anyone who wants to help move South Africa forward. It will certainly be an uphill battle, but, as Mandela himself remarked, “It always seems impossible until it is done.”