This is as quick and simple as I can make it!
The ANC is the major political party. It has dominated the political scene since 1994. It has attained overwhelming majorities in the 1994, 1999, 2004 and 2009 elections and will do so again in 2014. In 2009 it obtained 65.9% of the votes. It also controls 8/9 provinces and the majority of municipalities. It governs in alliance with Cosatu, a trade union organisation and the South African Communist Party.This explains in part th frequent references to "marxist" or "communist" from the resident racists but their economic policy since 1994 has been anything but "communist".
The largest opposition party is the Democratic Alliance. (DA) Although it has been carving out a larger slice of the electoral pie with each successive eletcion, it still only obtained 16.66% of the vote in 2009. It does control the Western Cape province (where my and Skwinty's home, Cape Town is located) and a number of municipalities. It suffers from being perceived as a "white party".
By American standards it is left wing; in SA political context it is centre right.
The remainder is taken up by a host of minor political parties. Four others are worthy of mention:
- Inkatha Freedom Party, a Zulu nationalist party with a stronghold in KwaZulu Natal. It gained 10.54% of the vote in 1994, but less than 5% in 2009. Its unlikely they will improve in 2014.
-Congress of the People, an ANC breakaway party. They obtained 7.42% of the vote in 2009. At one time it was possible they could have become the official opposition. but prolonged infighting over leadership has crippled the party. It is possible that they will not return to parliament in 2014.
There are 9 other parties represented nationally. No other party received more than 0.92% of the vote in 2009 and are not worthy of consideration.
There are two new parties which are receiving a lot of attention and may be important players after the next elections:
-Agang, a new arrival which will contest elections in 2014 for the first time. It is headed by Mamphele Ramphele who has a long and distinguished career, including a previous stint as director of the World Bank. Their policies are somewhat muddled and not easily distinguished from that of the DA. I don't think they will do too well.
- Economic Freedom Fighters, another new arrival, headed by former ANC Youth League president Julius Malema. Malema is a opportunistic hothead well-known for anti-white rhetoric and spouting nonsense on topics he knows nothing about and generally being an offensive moron. His base is the disillusioned poor (never mind the allegations of corruption and a ZAR16 million or about 1.6 million US dollars home.) His party is premised on a vague notion of "economic freedom" which includes nationalisation of mines. His party has been described by political commentators as displaying proto-fascist elememnts. They are a genuine wild card in the upcoming elections and may gain a significant number of votes (albeit not enough to dislodge the DA as the official opposition.
