ANC's Post-Apartheid Dominance Ends, Coalition Maze Awaits in Fractured South Africa

The ANC, which led the fight to free South Africa from apartheid, won just 159 seats in the 400-member national assembly on a vote share of just over 40%.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — In the wake of South Africa's most unpredictable election since the end of apartheid, the African National Congress (ANC) finds itself in unfamiliar territory: courting potential partners to form a government, writes Winston Mwale

The ANC, which led the fight to free South Africa from apartheid, won just 159 seats in the 400-member national assembly on a vote share of just over 40%.

It's a staggering fall for a party that once seemed destined to rule "until Jesus comes back," as one former leader put it.

The pro-business Democratic Alliance (DA) won 87 seats, reflecting a growing disillusionment with the ANC's economic stewardship.

More dramatically, uMkhonto weSizwe (MK), a newcomer led by Jacob Zuma, President Cyril Ramaphosa's bitter rival, secured 58 seats—a testament to the ANC's internal fractures.

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), a Marxist-Leninist party led by Julius Malema, the ANC's ousted firebrand, took 39.

This splintering mirrors South Africa's fragmented reality: high unemployment, power cuts that plunge cities into darkness, violent crime that terrorizes communities, and crumbling infrastructure.

All have contributed to a hemorrhaging of support for the former liberation movement.

Now, in an ironic twist, the party that negotiated South Africa's transition from apartheid must navigate a new transition—from dominant party to coalition broker.

"We must all act in the interest of our country and its people," reads an ANC statement released Wednesday, "and work to build national consensus on the form of government that is best suited to move South Africa forward at this moment in our history."

This call for unity echoes the language of the 1990s when the ANC led South Africa from white minority rule to democracy.

Now, it seeks to lead the nation from one-party dominance to coalition politics.

"The results indicate that South Africans want all parties to work together," the ANC acknowledges.

Its outreach spans from former foes like the Inkatha Freedom Party to ideological opposites like the DA.

Yet, not all are receptive.

The MK, whose 58 seats could be kingmakers, has snubbed the ANC's advances.

"Our door remains open," the ANC insists, its tone a far cry from its once-imperious style.

This humility reflects South Africa's altered landscape.

"The current situation has created some uncertainties and risks, but also opportunities to move the country forward," the ANC says.

The ANC's statement ends by invoking South Africa's democratic spirit: "Many other democracies who face similar challenges often take months of uncertainty. The ANC remains committed to ensure that we build a national consensus to avoid any uncertainty that can lead to instability."

In a nation that peacefully transitioned from apartheid, this appeal to its history of negotiation is potent.

Yet, the challenges are steep. High unemployment, rampant corruption, and a stagnant economy have shattered the ANC's aura of invincibility.

As South Africa navigates these uncharted waters, the world watches closely. This isn't just about one party's fall from grace.

It's about whether a nation that miraculously averted civil war in the 1990s can now forge a new consensus in a fragmented political landscape.

For the ANC, the stakes couldn't be higher.

Having led South Africa from apartheid to democracy, can it now lead it from the politics of liberation to the politics of governance?

The answer will shape not just South Africa's future, but that of emerging democracies worldwide.

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