ANC poll response a beacon in Africa

WITH the dust settling after the local government elections, political parties are now busy with the task of forming coalition governments in the councils of those municipalities where no party received a majority mandate to govern.

As soon as the results were announced and it became clear that the ruling ANC had lost control of a significant number of municipalities, including South Africa’s economic hub, Johannesburg, and the country’s administrative capital, Tshwane, the eyes of the world became firmly fixed on South Africa.

Many around the globe feared the results would be followed by violent clashes between the supporters of the ruling and opposition parties, a breakdown of law and order and refusal to relinquish power — as has happened elsewhere.

But the changing of the guard has, so far, been reasonable, peaceful and non-obstructive.

On Thursday the world witnessed the DA’s Athol Trollip being elected mayor of a municipality named after South Africa’s founding father — Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality in Port Elizabeth. This was a bitter pill to swallow for the ANC, which had, during the election campaign, clashed with the DA over its attempts to occupy the moral high ground by appropriating the former statesman’s name.

The proceedings were not without incident. The ANC — clearly struggling with having to sit in unfamiliar opposition benches — raised multiple objections and booed before eventually walking out of the council meeting.

The same happened in Tshwane. Despite the initial howling and repeated objections from the opposition benches in the council chambers, in the end the election of Solly Msimanga as mayor was greeted by cheers from the benches of the governing coalition of the DA, the EFF and other smaller parties.

Tomorrow we expect a coalition government to take over the running of the City of Johannesburg metropolitan municipality and on Tuesday the Ekurhuleni metropolitan municipality.

If what we have already seen in Port Elizabeth and Tshwane is anything to go by, the establishment of these new councils will be effected without major incident.

Indeed, with the exception of a few incidents, including the alleged stabbing of an ANC member on Friday amid growing tensions between the ruling party and the EFF in the platinum belt, a picture that is emerging is of a maturing democracy founded on principles of political tolerance; where the will of the people is respected and is the source of legitimate power.

Missing from this narrative, however, is the story of how this has, largely, been made possible by the ruling ANC. There has been little good to say about the party in recent years, but its commitment to democratic values and the rule of law have been demonstrated by its willingness to relinquish power.

The ANC could have, as often happens all around the world, refused to vacate office —plunging the country into turmoil.

The unobstructed handing over of power is almost unheard of in Africa. The history of this continent is replete with leaders who refuse to step aside when their terms have ended or they have been voted out of power — just across the border Zimbabwe’s president, Robert Mugabe, has been in office since 1987.

The ANC’s response to the election results bodes well for the future of the country.