The election results from South Africa are now complete.
Highlights:
o The ruling African National Congress (ANC) won decisively as expected – but at 65.9% of the total national vote did not reach a two-thirds majority.
o The opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) has won an outright majority in the provincial election in Western Cape province, and will replace the ANC as the provincial government.
o The DA has an interesting history, since its pre-1994 roots were as an opposition to apartheid among enfranchised (white) citizens; that its vote totals have risen from single digits to 16.7% in this election indicates that its support is broadening considerably.
o Since the election system in South Africa is based entirely on proportional representation from the total vote counts (by party), there is no immediate incentive for opposition parties to coalesce. However, at a practical level, there should be interest in consolidation for purposes of resources and marketing; this may finally begin to happen.
Steve Maley
Moe Lane
Dan McLaughlin
Neil Stevens
Stable?
Michael DeWeese (Diary) Saturday, April 25th at 10:47AM EST (link)Do these results indicate the constitution will remain stable and the country will remain relatively unaffected by neighboring countries tribal warfare?
Brain Dead Republican
Zuma ended up quite in the middle.
Old_Crow (Diary) Saturday, April 25th at 8:43PM EST (link)Not as historically high as the ANC has done in the past or as poorly as his opposition wished. The ball’s in his court.
South Africa needs a two-patry democracy where no one is above the law. Let’s see if the new big man can fill the shoes. The continent is watching and could use a good role model.
“Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm.” — James Madison