The bogey of two-thirds majority threat

To no one’s surprise, the African National Congress has won an emphatic victory in South Africa’s fourth general elections held on April 22, securing just under 66 per cent of the votes cast and winning 264 seats in the 400-member National Assembly. Dissidents who broke away following the victory of Jacob Zuma at the ANC’s National Conference at Polokwane in December 2007 and formed a new party, the Congress of the People (COPE), fared poorly, securing 7 .42 per cent vote and winning 30 seats, while the Democratic Alliance (DA) that ran an aggressive, personalised campaign against Mr. Zuma won 16.66 per cent vote and 67 seats, its highest tally in the last four elections.