Pressure is mounting against South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) as the ruling party was handed an election defeat in another major city. On Aug. 21, Herman Mashaba was elected Johannesburg's new mayor, ousting incumbent ANC member Parks Tau. The Democratic Alliance candidate received the backing of several smaller opposition groups hoping to overcome the plurality the ANC had gained in the city after South Africa's Aug. 3 municipal elections.
The victory in Johannesburg brings yet another major city under the Democratic Alliance's control. Since seizing Cape Town from the ANC in 2006, the opposition party has won over Pretoria, Port Elizabeth and several smaller municipalities. In fact, now only one of South Africa's five significant metropolitan areas does not belong to the Democratic Alliance: Durban, where the ANC still has widespread support.
Mashaba's win will put more strain on the ANC, which, despite its recent losses, maintains control of the country through its majority in South African Parliament. Criticism is piling up against the ruling party for failing to provide adequate governance and public services. Though nationwide general elections will not be held until 2019, the Aug. 3 municipal elections proved that there are other avenues for popular discontent to damage the ANC's political standing in the meantime. Because the Democratic Alliance has run its campaign on a platform of providing better services than the ANC has, its recent success will push the ruling party to improve its provision of basic needs such as water, electricity, health care and education to avoid losing more ground.
The ANC will also adjust its campaign strategy to defend its electoral lead at the national level. The South African government has signaled that it intends to review the performance of the country's state-owned enterprises, firms that the ruling party has long used as a means to inflate employment numbers and provide well-paying jobs to party members and constituents. At a time when the South African economy is contracting and few jobs are being created, this tactic may give the flagging ANC the boost it needs to stay in power. Its success depends, however, on the ruling party's gamble that South African citizens will place a higher value on the introduction of more and better jobs than they do on the improved delivery of public services that Johannesburg, Pretoria and Port Elizabeth will likely see now that the Democratic Alliance in charge.
