Polokwane — Zubeida Jaffer writes of her pride in being South African at seeing how the African National Congress handled its leadership transition. But, she adds, the splitting of the movement into two camps leaves ordinary South African voters with a huge dilemma.
I woke up this morning with the strong sense that the ANC had turned a corner. Last night when Dren Nupen of the election agency announced that Jacob Zuma had won, it was as if she had released the valve on a pressure cooker. The steam burst through noisily to welcome his victory, spreading through the marquee where delegates, guests and media were jam-packed. The worst had happened for some and the best for others.
Once the initial euphoria had died down and many journalists had rushed off to file their stories, I wandered down the hall and made my way past different sets of delegations so that I could observe their moods and gauge their reactions. Those who had lost were subdued while those who had won kept smiling. They were all trying to concentrate on finalising nominations for the National Executive Committee.
I asked a few how they felt. The essence of their response was that the members of the ANC had taken the organisation back into their own hands; that they had turned around the attitude that the leaders were solely responsible for the future. Instead, the members would shape their destinies and choose as leaders those who would express their will and be open to their ideas. Secondly, they were delighted that they had managed to put a stop to the possibility of a presidential third-term which could have gripped the country in the trap in which so many developing countries found themselves.
When Thabo Mbeki's term as President of South Africa ends in two years' time, he will have been the leader of the ANC and the country for ten years. Bear in mind that he was the de facto manager during the Mandela term, so he has held the reins for close to 15 years. Right across the board, from ordinary ANC members to some of the most senior and respected South African ambassadors and veterans, there was a strong desire for change.
What the Mbeki camp did not consider was the strength of the gatvol [politely translated, fed-up] factor. They did not realise that despite Mbeki's considerable achievements, ANC members had had enough of feeling excluded, of being treated with disdain and disrespect. They voted for Zuma because they felt he was the only one they could rely on to take on Mbeki. Most of the other leaders had to consider their positions and their futures. Zuma had lost everything. Not only had he forfeited his government post as Deputy President of the country; his reputation was also in tatters. And the general view among those I spoke to was that the surge of support which carried him to victory was an orchestrated campaign against Mbeki, not necessarily a reflection of what members felt about Jacob Zuma.
Passing Eastern Cape delegates who had voted for Mbeki, I saw a woman stopping at different rows of delegates and stepped closer to hear what she was saying. "We must respect their decision as we would have wanted them to respect ours if we had won," she said. I was surprised to see people nodding in agreement. An elderly man responded to her that he was satisfied to have stood by his man until the end and that he accepted that only one person could win.
I weaved my way through the different sections of the crowd and ended up at the far side in front to see if I had missed any significant grouping. By this time, it was about an hour after the results had been announced, the new top six officials were seated on the platform and the election agency was running the meeting. I was so surprised to see the entire Cabinet, including President Mbeki and some of his staff, seated in the hall participating in proceedings.
Why had I expected that he would have been whisked away? I suppose if I were him, I would have preferred to sink into the floor or just get away as soon as possible to nurse my wounded pride in private. But there he was and there were those who had coalesced around him. At that moment I felt extremely proud to be South African. What I had witnessed the past few days was that ordinary members of the ANC did not fear speaking their minds and did not fear voting against a formidable leader. And those who had lost had not walked out in a petulant huff. This does not mean that it is all hunky-dory. The challenges are enormous. But it does mean that the ANC was strong enough to withstand a bruising battle.
What has happened is that there are now two distinct camps. If we were to draw an analogy with the British system, the Labour Party has won and the Tories have been ousted. Anybody who compares our situation to Zimbabwe or Zanu PF is totally off the mark.
The problem is that both these camps remain in one organisation. What are South Africans supposed to do when they vote? These developments may be good for the ANC but they place the general population in a real dilemma. And it is a dilemma which the ANC needs to give serious attention if it wants to retain its support base.
Just as ordinary ANC members were quite prepared to register their protest and not slavishly follow the most powerful, so too will ordinary citizens exercise their minds. The problem is that ordinary citizens do not now have the option that the members had of voting for one camp or the other.
There are thousands if not millions who support the ANC but find Jacob Zuma's conduct completely unacceptable. What is my sister going to do in 2009 when she has to vote? She cannot vote for an ANC that has a leader who says to her sons that it is ok to have unprotected sex, that it is ok to have a relationship with your friend's daughter while you are married. For that matter, what is Thabo Mbeki going to do in 2009? Who will he vote for? Surely it would be difficult for him to vote for Jacob Zuma when he considers him to be a corrupt man?
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
The ANC has entered a new era. It will have to consider how to manage a situation unlike any it has had to deal with before. It will be sad indeed if people persist in drawing only on past experiences. They now have to come to terms with the fact that this is an entirely new situation and requires creative and innovative responses. Hanging onto the notion that this is not how it is done in the ANC will be disastrous.
Thinking about the four new men and two women sitting on that stage last night, they suddenly appear very lonely. They have a huge task on their hands. They may have won the battle within the ANC for now but they are not going to have an easy time selling Jacob Zuma as president to the broader South African public. But the Zuma issue aside, they represent a formidable team. For the sake of the country and all those many hopeful faces that I saw last night, I wish them strength.
