[ 2014-01-29 ]

ANC faces toughest poll as opposition join forces
South Africa’s ruling party will face its
greatest challenge at the ballot box since Nelson
Mandela first led them to power 20 years ago after
two of the most prominent opposition parties
merged yesterday.
Mamphela Ramphele, a co-founder of the Black
Consciousness movement and a veteran of the
anti-apartheid struggle, will stand for the
Democratic Alliance in presidential polls this
year.
It will be the first time that the Alliance, which
has suffered from being seen as a white party,
will field a black candidate in the presidential
elections. It is also the first time that voters
born after apartheid ended in 1994 — known as
“born frees” — will be able to vote in a
presidential poll. It is thought that they may
feel less loyalty to the ANC because they did not
grow up during the anti-apartheid struggle.
Helen Zille, the Democratic Alliance’s leader,
said that it was a “game-changing moment for
South Africa”, but analysts said that it was
unlikely to end the ANC’s grip on power.
Dr Mamphele, a former director of the World Bank,
is well known in South African politics, although
she only launched her party, Agang, last year. She
had an affair with Steve Biko, the anti-apartheid
martyr, and was five months pregnant with his son
when he was beaten to death in police custody.
The ANC won 65.9 per cent of the vote in 2009; the
Democratic Party just 16.7 per cent.
Dr Ramphele has yet to contest an election, but
she said that the political landscape had changed
after the nation’s first black president and
founding father died last year.
“The death of Nelson Mandela has changed many
things for South Africa,” Dr Ramphele said. “I
believe this decision is in the best interests of
South Africa as we head into turbulent waters.”
The period of national mourning that followed Mr
Mandela’s death led many South Africans to draw
unflattering comparisons with President Zuma. He
was booed by the crowds at Mr Mandela’s memorial
service in the Soccer City football stadium. He
has been dogged by allegations of corruption and
one of the country’s largest unions called for
him to step down.
However, his party is still credited with freeing
South Africans from the yoke of apartheid, and
many feel duty bound to vote for them despite
suggestions that they have failed to deliver.

Source - The Times(UK)

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