ANC prepares to party
2004-04-16 05:56
Johannesburg - President Thabo Mbeki's African National Congress coasted to a record electoral landslide after a decade in power in the new South Africa, bagging almost 70% of the vote, partial results showed on Friday.
Africa's oldest liberation movement, which in 1994 forced an end to some five decades of white racist rule, won a two-thirds majority in Wednesday's landmark polls -- a magic figure it had failed to garner in the country's previous two elections.
The ANC was set to celebrate its pioneering win at a victory party later on Friday in Johannesburg with Mbeki due to attend the ceremony at a posh convention centre in the Sandton.
"We want to thank our workers and supporters. Unfortunately we will not be able to fit in everyone," ANC spokesperson Steyn Speed said of the bash.
The Independent Electoral Commission said preliminary estimates showed that the turnout was likely to be around 75% of the nearly 21 million registered voters, down from the previous two democratic elections.
Decisive mandate
As Mbeki braced for a second and last term in power, the party issued a statement declaring that it had won a "decisive mandate to fight poverty and create work" from voters from all races and classes.
Main opposition leader Tony Leon, who has been trying to shake off the image of his Democratic Alliance as a "white" party, said the election results showed that his party's support base had broadened.
"Our support in black communities has grown since 1999 but we still have much more work to do."
He said his mission was to try and build up an alternative to the ANC but added: "Our maturing democracy requires a sensible relationship between the government and the opposition."
Political analyst Aubrey Matshiqi says the ANC sweep could worsen its already frosty relations with the main opposition party.
He said it could result in a situation where the "DA was emboldened by its performance" and an ANC so dominant, that it could continue "not listening" to the opposition.
"The question is what that kind of polarisation portends for the future of the country," he said."The challenge here will be for the ANC to show leadership and be the one that enters into a conversation with all South Africans ..."
Although the ANC had been expected to win a crushing victory, there were some surprises.
Scoring far better than expected was the Independent Democrats led by Patricia De Lille, who won about two percent of the vote, according to the latest results.
The New National Party also got two percent of the vote, its worst drubbing.
Despite the ANC's record showing, Mbeki faces Herculean challenges in his second term, facing an increasingly angry and impatient public wanting to see him deliver on his pledges to turn the tide on Aids, poverty and unemployment.
Watch the provisional results of the national and provincial elections as they come in on News24.com