This was a transition election that signals the beginning of the end for the current political establishment. And the space for a new, vibrant opposition could be about to become wide open.

As political parties scramble to finalise the terms of the proposed "Government of National Unity" (or a disguised de facto grand coalition), it is important to take a beat and assess the possibilities of the new political landscape about to form.

Election 2024 has shattered the political equilibrium that existed pre-May 2024, and parties -- both "big" and "small" -- would do well to map out a path ahead in what increasingly will become a very messy political scene as we move forward to the next local government elections in 2026/2027.

Despite what many had hoped for, 29 May 2024 was not a "change election". As others have stated elsewhere, 64.28% of voters chose the ANC or its two most recent breakaways, MK (an external faction of the ANC) and the EFF.

Election 2024 also represented a further drop in election turnout of 7.4% with this year's turnout the lowest yet since the dawn of democracy in 1994. These are hardly the indicators of any thirst for change.

In the last decade, turnout in general elections has dropped by 14.8%. Add to this the drop of 11.7% in local government elections over 10 years between 2011 and 2021, and a...