Yes, although the ANC is losing voting share every election - especially in the major urban areas. Part of those votes go to the either the DA or more recently the EFF.
The DA is historically a white party but mostly has black leadership now. It's _mostly_ unaffiliated with the National Party (ruling party during Apartheid) but still has the stigma among most of the population as being the "white party".
The EFF on the other hand is the real populist winner lately. They're extremely left leaning (Marxist-Lenin inspired) and want to nationalise most businesses (including mining) and get rid of all white capital ownership. I wouldn't be surprised if they continue to gain more power - they're purpose built for the current SA population.
But also 1 thing to keep in mind is that the people you've met are probably not representative of the vast majority of the country.
> The DA is historically a white party but mostly has black leadership now. It's _mostly_ unaffiliated with the National Party (ruling party during Apartheid) but still has the stigma among most of the population as being the "white party".
The DA is not doing itself any favours though, with Zilles gaffes and how often it sheds black leaders - how many have been ejected now after factional battles? 3 in 6-ish years?
> But also 1 thing to keep in mind is that the people you've met are probably not representative of the vast majority of the country.
Oh I would assume not, nor would they pretend to have been. That's why I was curious was it a coincidence or a product of them being in academia. (Bit of both I suspect)
The DA has been shedding its black leadership for years now though, leaving the top echelons of the party much more white than black. Most of its black leadership have left for the same reason: That the mostly-white old guard, exemplified by Helen Zille, are resistant to adopting slightly more left-wing policies that would appear to the majority of the population, are too blind on the needs of social redress, and run the party as a clique rather than a meritocracy.
As long as that remains the DA will be a special interest party that won’t get enough votes to be able to govern the country.
It’s a pity, because we really need sane alternatives to the ANC with broad appeal.
As for the EFF, while they would in theory be well-placed to take advantage of this their growth rate has been much smaller than you’d expect. They’ve made many missteps that have plateaued their level of popularity. That might change in future of course.
The DA is historically a white party but mostly has black leadership now. It's _mostly_ unaffiliated with the National Party (ruling party during Apartheid) but still has the stigma among most of the population as being the "white party".
The EFF on the other hand is the real populist winner lately. They're extremely left leaning (Marxist-Lenin inspired) and want to nationalise most businesses (including mining) and get rid of all white capital ownership. I wouldn't be surprised if they continue to gain more power - they're purpose built for the current SA population.
But also 1 thing to keep in mind is that the people you've met are probably not representative of the vast majority of the country.