By Craig Urquart
While the ruling African National Congress continues to lick its wounds following the most fiercely contested elections since the advent of democracy in South Africa, the spotlight is shining brightly on a white farmer-turned-politician who is expected to become mayor of a metropolitan district named after the country’s greatest son, Nelson Mandela.
In the same Eastern Cape region where the world statesman was born – and buried – Atholl Trollip has handed the ANC its most humiliating defeat since the party was unbanned more than 25 years ago.
Trollip’s Democratic Alliance won 47 percent of the vote against the ANC’s 41 percent in the Nelson Mandela Bay (formerly Port Elizabeth). The victory signals a dramatic shift in a society that has demonstrated its frustration with poor governance and corruption.
The region has always been synonymous with the ANC and the liberation struggle. Many of the country’s leaders were born and raised in the Eastern Cape, including Govan Mbeki who was jailed (with Mandela) on Robben Island as well as his son Thabo who served as President from 1999 to 2008. It is also where liberation hero Steven Biko lived before he was murdered by the Apartheid-era police.
So concerned was the ANC with its election prospects in this key region that it appointed Danny Jordaan as its candidate. Jordaan, a former ANC MP who played a pivotal role in securing South Africa the rights to host the FIFA World Cup for the first time in Africa, worked tirelessly to save the region from falling into opposition hands.
The ANC ran a racially charged campaign and accused the DA of hijacking Mandela’s name by saying that it promoted his values and ideals.
Trollip who is fluent in the local Xhosa language said he is “hugely honored” to clinch victory in the city named after Mandela. “Mandela encouraged South Africans to work together and that’s what we plan to do,” he said.
Saluting Trollip, Mmusi Maimane who is the first black leader of the DA, said that for years to come, and as South Africa’s political landscape realigns, this election will be seen as a “tipping point”.
“It will be remembered as the moment that the ANC lost its foothold as the dominant party, and the DA emerged as a serious contender to win a national election. This is good news for our democracy. For too long, the ANC has misgoverned our country with impunity,” he said.
According to Maimane, the myth that the DA is a “white” party has finally been shattered. “More and more black South Africans are seeing the difference we can make where we govern and are entrusting us with their votes. This election has established two powerful lessons for our young democracy.
“First, that it is legitimate for voters to choose a government other than the ANC, wherever they live and whatever their backgrounds. And second, that the power of the ANC’s divisive race narrative is diminishing day by day,” he added.
Apart from the crushing defeat in the Eastern Cape, the ANC has also lost its majorities in Johannesburg and the municipality that is home to the capital, Pretoria. The DA also boosted its majority in Cape Town to more than two-thirds, a resounding vote of confidence in its ability to govern.
President Jacob Zuma who has been blamed for much of the ills of the ANC must be a very worried man.
After all, his multi-million dollar private home in Nkandla now squats in a region that is run by the Inkatha Freedom Party while his office in Pretoria and Parliament in Cape Town are both located in DA-run wards.
