“This is a watershed moment,” says Justice Malala in The Observer. South Africa is becoming a “lively, multi-party system that holds power to account”. Until recently, the African National Congress (ANC), the former anti-apartheid movement that has governed since majority rule began in 1994, had dominated the political scene.
But last week’s local elections reduced the ANC’s majority from 62% in the 2014 national vote to 54%. The opposition managed to break the government’s stranglehold on major cities including Johannesburg, the commercial capital, and Pretoria.
Any sign of competition for the ANC is good news for investors, especially as the main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, is centrist and business-friendly.
President Jacob Zuma’s years in power have been marked by corruption, cronyism and ineptitude, while endlessly delayed structural reforms and red tape have also hampered growth, compounding the effect of the commodities downturn. The economy is expected to stagnate this year.
The hope now is that Zuma could be pressured into resigning, while the ANC will have to get its act together or face defeat.