Being a self-confessed election junky I’ve just absorbed the South African poll results as given on the Independent Electoral Commision web site.
I’m surprised the African National Congress (ANC) has succeeded in gaining nearly 70 percent of the vote, although I suppose I shouldn’t be.
Black Africa’s honeymoon with single-party governments is known to last a long time and historically leads to dictatorship.
Just ask the black Zimbabweans who support the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
I visited Zimbabwe in 1990 and it was a stable, prosperous country. That’s because there was no opposition to Robert Mugabe. Once the opposition became organised, and once it was known that a majority of white Zimbabweans supported the opposition, tyranny became commonplace.
The indications are that Mugabe has already transplanted his doctrine of seizing white-owned farms to Namibia. South Africa is obviously next on the list.
I hoped this current election would have seen a rise in support for black parties that oppose the ANC. Instead it was more of the same, with Inkatha Freedom Party polling well in Natal, but failing to achieve a majority in that province and performing poorly elsewhere.
The mainly white liberal party, Democratic Alliance, should be fairly pleased with its result, gaining nearly 13 percent overall. It will struggle to win Western Cape though on preferences, which it would have expected.
The diversity of South Africa’s population and economy will hopefully save it from going down the Zimbabwe path.
