The 2016 Municipal elections have come and gone but the dust has still not settled, with the South African political scene thrown into almost complete disarray. The ANC received a slap in the face after boasting that it would win again across the board. Its share of the votes slumped to 54% from 62% in the 2011 local government elections. The Democratic Alliance made moderate gains – from 22% of the votes in 2011 to 26%. The Economic Freedom Front could not be more than disappointed with a shade above 8% of the vote. However, the ANC’s loss of key metros has given the DA and the EFF more clout. But there is no clear majority for any party in Nelson Mandela Bay (Port Elizabeth), Tshwane or Johannesburg. There will be plenty of opportunity for the ANC minority in these metros to use disruptive tactics as they are bound to do.

The greatest ANC loss was due to voters who stayed away from the polls – more than DA and EFF gains. This indicates that should the ANC clean its house it could recover a large percentage  of these votes. But it is hamstrung in removing Zuma and he refuses to go without the protection of his well placed cronies blocking his court appearance. Gwede Mantashe, the General Secretary of the ANC, is fairly correct that it is not a question of Zuma but the collective leadership of the organisation. But this only makes matters worse as there is as yet no effort to dislodge dubious individuals from their positions. It now faces unedifying internal problems with open fighting and wrangling about how it can recapture its erstwhile position. There seems to be no faction that has gained the upper hand. But it does not serve us to concentrate on the shenanigans in the ANC. The DA and the EFF are also now being put to the test and their dubious role in South African politics should be fully exposed.

South Africa now approaches the norms of bourgeois democracy as opposed to a dictatorship or one party state. People still have faith in this political system, believing it to be equivalent to full democracy. As such people vote for a party which they believe is strong enough to effect positive change rather than the essence of its programme. This has meant that leftwing efforts have largely been ignored in elections. For instance, the United Front in the Eastern Cape, which rallied to the call of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, only received 0.28% of the total vote in the province. As long as this belief persists the left will be facing an uphill struggle unless it is able to unite and in future elections, concentrate all efforts in a specific but significant area in which it could make decisive gains. It could then demonstrate a real political alternative which other regions could follow. But this remains to be seen.