Johannesburg — CONGRATULATIONS are in order after the successful staging of the past weekend's national convention to form a new party that will oppose the African National Congress (ANC) at next year's election.

Not only to the drivers of the breakaway group, Mosiuoa Lekota and Mbhazima Shilowa - who will surely be delighted with the number of delegates who attended and the apparent enthusiasm with which their message was received - but also to the ANC itself and the people of SA in general.

The fact that it could take place barely a decade-and-a-half after the advent of democracy - without violence in the streets or a state-sponsored crackdown on the dissidents - is a sign of a welcome maturity in our politics that augurs well for the future.

That said, it is five to eight months before Election 2009 and the dissidents have much to do if they are to turn the euphoria of the weekend into tangible gains at the polls. Talk of attracting 20-million votes and threatening the ANC's grip on power will remain just that if the new party fails to turn the rhetoric into something more meaningful to the average South African.

It has been stated repeatedly that the rebellion needs to be more than just anti-ANC and disdainful of its president, Jacob Zuma. The events of the weekend did little to add flesh to the bones of the fledgling movement.

However, it is clear that it will woo the burgeoning middle class, be market-friendly, and emphasise the supremacy of the constitution and independence of state institutions.

That is not nearly enough to win an election, or even to put more than a dent in the ANC's support base, but it is a good start strategically since these are all areas where the ruling party could be vulnerable. By staking a claim to the middle ground, Lekota and Shilowa have started ratcheting up the pressure on the ANC to declare the turf it intends to defend.

It was a matter of time before it was forced to abandon the concept of the broad church, but if the centre gets too crowded and it has little option but to stand for the working class and social democratic principles, the new party will have achieved its main aim -- to differentiate itself and offer a credible alternative.

Realistically, the conventionists have no hope of winning the next election nationally or even of depriving the ANC of its absolute majority. But it has a good shot at preventing the ANC from getting two-thirds of the vote, and it could form coalitions with other opposition parties to take shared control of a few provinces.

And it could do South African politics a power of good simply by making the ANC consider its policies and decisions as the governing party more carefully.

The ANC has shown little enthusiasm for changing the existing proportional representation electoral system, for instance, despite mounting evidence that it is leaving the electorate feeling powerless and alienated from the government. That attitude might change now that the dissidents have adopted electoral reform as an election issue.

Similarly, the ruling party will no longer be able to afford lazy habits, like failing to clamp down on mavericks such as ANC Youth League president Julius Malema when he makes outrageous comments that undermine our democratic institutions. In the past, the party could afford to assume that ANC voters who were offended by such indisciplined behaviour could still be counted on to vote for it, but that is no longer a risk they would be wise to take.

The main obstacle the rebels have so far failed to overcome is their links with the flawed leadership of former president Thabo Mbeki. They are certainly wise not to actively parade Mbeki as their mentor, but that is not enough to avoid being tainted by association.

Issues such as SA's policy towards Zimbabwe, how they intend spreading the benefits of market-driven economic growth, and past mistakes in the government's approach to preventing the spread of HIV, need to be addressed sooner rather than later.

At the moment this is a weak point, but admitting to a few mistakes and explaining how they will be corrected could actually count in the dissidents' favour come election time.