South Africa's ANC Split: End of an Era?(World IN Reviewrsouth Africa) (African National Congress) (Congress of the People‪)‬

Is South Africa leaving the era of Nelson Mandela? After the country's 14 years of de facto single party rule under the African National Congress (ANC), the party of Mandela and of liberation has experienced serious internal divisions over leadership personality, alleged corruption, and ideological conflict. Such divisions led prominent ANC vanguard Mosiua Letoka to officially sever his ties with the ANC and found the Congress of the People (COPE). Letoka, who was the former defense minister and close ally of recently-ousted president Thabo Mbeki, signaled a acute change in atmosphere of South African politics. COPE, first regarded as a manifestation of personality differences between Letoka and Jacob Zuma, quickly became politically relevant as more prominent names of the ANC joined the new party. With general elections scheduled to be held on April 22, 2009, all eyes are fixed on COPE--will it prove to be a formidable political force? Will the splinter party be able to change the face of South African politics? While some welcome the formation of a new competitive party as a sign of "true democracy" taking root in South Africa, comparison with experiences of other countries shows that the result is often, at best, mixed. What is certain, however, is that the challenge presented by COPE will be a catalyst for internal change within the ANC. Most importantly, the emergence of COPE has the potential to highlight the intensity of ethnic and tribal division within the ANC and the South African political establishment. If Letoka and his breakaway party, COPE, fail to deliver practical solutions to the rising ethnic tensions, the splinter party does take South African politics one step further by allowing the once-taboo subject of ethnic and tribal rivalries to be openly discussed again. This plausibly could trigger incentive for reform even within the ANC, assisting its return to its founding ideology of unification.