Political analyst Moeletsi Mbeki stated on Tuesday that May 29 was not a watershed election, arguing that it was “well known” that the African National Congress (ANC) was not going to get a majority vote.

The governing ANC has lost its outright majority for the first time since the country's transition to democracy 30 years ago.

“If we are using the criterion of the ANC losing its majority, the watershed election was actually the local government election in November 2021, when the national tally of local government saw the ANC get 45.6% of the national vote, so that was the watershed election not this one,” said Mbeki.

He said the reality was that the ANC had been losing its support, primarily of the black working class in the municipalities.

“…since the local government elections in 2016, the ANC has been losing the support of the black working class in the metros, and what has kept it afloat has been the rural vote in the former homelands,” he added.

Mbeki noted that the primary problem in the country causing instability was that currently the top five political parties were middle class parties that were advancing the middle class interests to the exclusion of all the other social groups in society.

He said the other social groups felt that their interests ware not represented in the decision-making of the South African State today.

“The black workers do not feel their interests are being represented, white capital do not feel their interests are represented, the poor coloureds do not feel their interests are being represented, that is what is causing instability in South Africa,” said Mbeki.

He highlighted that whether the ANC and the Democratic Alliance (DA) united, both parties represented the interests of the middle class and not the interests of the white, coloured, Indian and African working class.

He noted that the DA was creating propaganda that South Africa needed to be rescued.

In preparing for the elections, DA leader John Steenhuisen vowed to 'rescue' South Africa in the 2024 election.

Mbeki said that despite the country’s railways and Eskom not functioning effectively, that does not mean the country is in crisis.

Mbeki argued that the ANC had never brought crisis in the country, however, it has brought mismanagement.

“…what the ANC has done, the ANC government it hasn’t brought about a crisis in our society, what is has done it has mismanaged the railways system, it has mismanaged the electricity and supply system, it has disincentivised entrepreneurship by its policies of black economic empowerment,” he said.

He said the ANC’s mismanagement had not taken the country off course, but it had created problems for users of railway systems and exporters.

He said one of the reasons people voted against the ANC was that the party was unable to manage the economy in a way that the voters wanted it to be managed.

“…that does not constitute a crisis,” he said.

He noted that if he were to advise a new ANC government, he would suggest that the party cancel black economic empowerment.