The th!nc Foundation

The 2011 Local government elections have come and gone. The political landscape and template has definitely changed. Voting patterns have been redefined with historical slogans been subjected to a new acid test. The Mandela and Mbeki era born generation is fast ascending the stage of political influence with ‘genetically modified seeds’ of what the struggle history means to them. The era of party branding that is linked to collective loyalty is fast been replaced by the rise of the sovereign individual demanding loyalty to individuality. The South African democracy is maturing and responding to the dictates of present day demands of society. The salient elements of constitutional democracy as conceptualised by the CODESA consensus are now taking shape. The benefits of multijurisdictional election mandates found prominence in the 2011 elections. The idea of a national ruling party learning to become an opposition whilst in control of the majority of votes is a lesson of democracy for p...

The contest for municipal elections vote has not only brought to bear the importance of bread and butter issues, but began a process of redefining the balance of power in respect of claims to the struggle legacy. The inalienability of the ANC’s claim over the struggle history has never been put to question since the birth of the Congress of the People like it has been during this period. The liberation movement character of the ANC has for the first time been foregrounded as a national asset instead of it being an exclusive preserve of those who paid the R12 membership fee. The ANC is Africa’s oldest liberation movement with a nationalist history that influenced almost all movements in the continent. Its agenda has always been the liberation of African people from the clutches of both colonialism and institutionalised racism. These were to be replaced by a South Africa that belongs to all who live in it. The ‘all who live in it’ mantra was to be underpinned by a non-racial and non-sexi...