Integrating Poor Populations in South African Cities - Agence ...

3. Urban Development Policies in a Unique Political and Institutional Context
sentence for high treason along with other leaders of the opposition, was freed. He took
over as head of the ANC, which was recognized as the primordial political actor in the
struggle against apartheid and the defence of non-white populations.
Predominance in Post-Apartheid Political Life
In April 1994, the first multi-racial elections were held, and the ANC won these
elections with 62.6% of votes. Nelson Mandela then became the president of South
Africa. National elections are held every five years and, in 1999, the ANC won 66.4%
of votes, which brought the former vice-president, Thabo Mbeki, to power. Finally,
during the national elections in 2004, the ANC received 69.7% of votes and Thabo Mbeki
began his second term of office. The 2009 elections gave the ANC another victory, and
Jacob Zuma became president.
3.1.2. The Other Political Parties
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The Democratic Alliance (DA) is the primary opposition party, followed closely by
the Inkhata Freedom Party (IFP). The DA, a mostly white party, was created in 2000 from
a political merger and is currently led by Helen Zille, who is also mayor of Cape Town.
The IFP is a mainly Zulu party born in 1975 in Natal Province in reaction to apartheid.
The IFP and the ANC progressively began to clash, and the apartheid government
sought to maintain this political, even ethnic, rivalry. Today, the IFP accounts for only
6% to 7% of votes in national elections.
Nationally and in the provinces, the ANC completely dominates the political stage.
It is on the municipal level that the opposition parties, and more specifically the DA, play
a significant role. The DA won back power in the city of Cape Town during the last
municipal elections in March 2006, after having lost in 2002, in large part thanks to
coloured voters in the townships. Several other smaller (rather working-class)
municipalities have elected political representatives that do not belong to the ANC. This
is a sort of questioning of the ANC’s local management and a criticism of still not very
effective local governments. One should note that, for historical and other reasons, the
public administration in South Africa is extremely politicized, and political considerations
play a huge role in determining which programmes are developed at all levels of
government.
Integrating Poor Populations in South African Cities © AFD 2009