Abstract
This chapter traces the ascendancy of the dominant party system and its demise in South African politics. The chapter argues that internal instability within the ANC-ruling party and the emergence of appealing parties like the EFF and others have contributed to the decline of the ANC as the dominant party since the dawn of democracy in 1994. The voting participation has been declining, reflecting the general apathy in society towards the ANC-led government, its electoral systems and processes. Thus, the chapter uses ANC as a case study to demonstrate the ascendancy and demise of its demise as once a dominant party in South African politics. Socio-economic and political factors are cited to contribute to the demise of the ANC as once a dominant political party in South African politics. Fundamentally, both national and local government elections are used to trace ANC electoral dominance and its decline since the democratic dispensation in 1994.
TopIntroduction
The African National Congress, known as the ANC, is the oldest liberation movement on the African continent, with a credential for having liberated South Africa from colonial and apartheid rule (Harvey, 2021 & Cronje, 2020). Thus, the ANC, together with political parties such as the Pan Africanist Congress and Black Consciousness Movement, as well as the South African Communist Party and trade unions, was a forceful resistance movement since its formation in 1912 (Johnson & Jacobs, 2012). However, it should be noted that central to its struggle was for a non-racial democracy (World Bank Group, 2018). In South Africa, the struggle for political liberation was geared towards ending the colonial and apartheid decades of socio-cultural degradation, economic and political exclusion of black people (The Presidency, 2014). De Villiers (2001) notes that most South Africans were deprived of their basic human rights and denied authentic representation. Thus, political oppression and economic marginalisation engendered resistance, which commenced as passive resistance and boycotts to the adoption of armed struggle, especially in the 1960s (Habib, 2013; Mashele and Qobo, 2014; The Presidency, 2014). The primary purpose of revolutionary tactics and struggle was to attain political freedom from white dominance. Taylor (1997, p. 9) argues that popular resistance to apartheid and the active and continuing participation of millions of South Africans in mass democratic movements succeeded against what seemed insurmountable odds, in achieving a democratic form of government and in ending generations of formal political inequality and legal discrimination.
In resisting this demonic situation, various liberation organisations and movements were forged with the primary purpose of fighting for political freedom in the African continent broadly and in South Africa in particular. According to De Villiers (2001: 15), oppression inevitably led to the struggle, and with the struggle, the emergence of alternative voices and forms of expression. The South African political liberation through the protracted negotiated settlement, which culminated into the national elections in 1994, was regarded as a ‘miracle’ considering triumphant years of colonial, imperialism and apartheid (Taylor, 1997 and Turok, 1999). It is within this context that the struggle for political liberation in South Africa cannot be entirely separated from socio-economic transformation, development and social transformation. Consequently, the policies were instrumental in keeping black Africans from socio-economic mainstream development. This meant many Africans were deprived of material needs, which further exacerbated poor living conditions, poor services and skewed distribution of resources. It is stated in the Presidency (2014, p. 84) that:
The apartheid economy was built on systematically enforced exclusion linked to racial division in every sphere. The apartheid state deliberately excluded black people from opportunities in the labour market and direct ownership of businesses and land.
Key Terms in this Chapter
African National Congress (ANC): According to Kimble and Unterhalter (1982) AU126: The in-text citation "Kimble and Unterhalter (1982)" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. in Kanyane and Houston (2012) AU127: The in-text citation "Kanyane and Houston (2012)" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. , African National Congress (ANC) is a South Africa gigantic political party that has been in existence since pre-democracy with an aim “to constitute itself as a national vigilant association, unite all existing political associations whose aims were ‘the promotion and safeguarding of the interests of the aboriginal races’ and ‘to formulate a standard policy on Native Affairs for the benefit and guidance of the Union Government and Parliament” (p. 5). ANC is a big political party because of its long history of fighting for democracy that goes back to the days when the African people fought spear in hand against the British and Boer colonisers.
Elections: The elections are not just election but a part of a process that determine leadership, and either continuity or change in this leadership, government in most cases (Guide, 2017 AU131: The in-text citation "Guide, 2017" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ). Therefore, elections become a key value in institutionalizing electoral integrity in reinforcement of democratic principles.
Electoral Democracy: Electoral democracy is also known as representative democracy which is a form of government where the powers of the sovereignty are delegated to a body that elected from time to time, who exercise them on behalf of the whole nation (Skaaning, Gerring & Bartusevicius, 2015).
Dominant Party System: Laws (2016) AU130: The in-text citation "Laws (2016)" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ascertains that ‘dominant party system refers to a category of parties or political organisations that have successively secured election victories and whose defeat is unlikely for the foreseeable future’ (p. 1). The term has been applied to a variety of parties and organisations, like the African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa whose dominance is not likely to be defeated.
Voter Participation: The voter participation is regarded as a percentage of a population that votes in a given election. This statistic can be measured by considering the percentage of the voting age population or the percentage of the voting-eligible population or a voter turnout in a given election period (Lewkowicz et al., 2020 AU134: The in-text citation "Lewkowicz et al., 2020" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ).
Democratic State: According to Smelser and Baltes (2001) AU129: The in-text citation "Smelser and Baltes (2001)" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. democratic state refers to a form of government in which the people have the authority to choose their government, or the authority to decide on legislation. Democratic state is where power is exercised directly by the people through their elected representatives.
Democratic Elections: Democratic elections means ‘competitive, periodic, inclusive, regular elections in which persons to hold office at all levels of government are elected, through the secret ballot, by citizens who broadly enjoy fundamental human rights and freedoms’ (Southern African Development Community Democratic, 2020 AU128: The in-text citation "Southern African Development Community Democratic, 2020" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. , p. ii). Likewise, democratic elections are not merely symbolic, but a competitive and definitive elections in which the appointed decision makers in government are selected by citizens who enjoy broad freedom to criticize government, to publish their criticism, and to present alternatives through voting.
Proportional Representation (PR): The aim of the PR is that ‘the composition of a representative chamber should closely reflect the viewpoints, interests and demographic composition of the electorate’ (Kadima, 2003 AU133: The in-text citation "Kadima, 2003" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. , p. 42). Proportional representation is an electoral system in which divisions of people are reflected proportionately by the elected body.