The African National Congress (ANC), which is in power in South Africa, appears likely to lose its majority in parliament for the first time since Nelson Mandela led the party to victory in 1994, when the racist apartheid system came to an end.
It would raise doubts about President Cyril Ramaphosa’s leadership, signal the end of the party’s decades-long dominance of South African politics, and bring in a period of coalition politics.
The following three elements describe how South Africa arrived at this point, why it is here, and what lies next.
1) The reason for the ANC’s collapse
After three decades in power, the ANC—once a respected liberation organization deeply ingrained in South Africans’ hearts—has come to be associated with corruption and poor governance.
It was thus penalized.
particularly by young voters who turned out in significant numbers to cast ballots against the party on Wednesday—something they had never done in any prior election.
“They are more negatively impacted by unemployment and are tired of corruption. William Gumede, the chairman of the nonprofit Democracy Works Foundation, stated, “They turned on the ANC.”
There is a generational gap in South Africa because their parents, who experienced apartheid firsthand, are still devoted to the African National Congress (ANC), a movement that has a long history of emancipating Black people from its restrictions.
