People's Democracy

South Africans Reject Rightist Parties

 S K Chaudhary

THE African National Congress (ANC) victory with an overwhelming 70 percent of the votes in the recent election reflects that country’s faith in the people’s democracy. It also reflects an emphatic rejection of rightwing politics by the people of that country. The main opposition, the Democratic Alliance (Democratic Party and New National Party) could secure only 12 per cent of the votes because of its campaign that revolved around the race supremacy, more and more unconstitutional rights for whites and against ANC secular and democratic functioning. This alliance, which failed to come up with any credible programme, held no appeal for the masses. It can be said that the right-wing parties have been effectively marginalised in South Africa as compared to India.

A symbol of real people’s participation in the governance of the country was available when the South African president, Thabo Mbeki nominated a leader of the Indian origin, Ebrahim Rassool, as prime minister of the Western Cape province. Rassool was chosen along with eight other prime ministers around the country.

An active civil society, a vigorous free press, and a robust judiciary have thus far acted as effective checks and balances on the government. Walker Conner recognizes that the wellspring of ethnic discord is not identity needs but economic demands, making it possible for ethno-national groups to be bought off if their material interests are guaranteed. Steven Friedman commented: “[We] avoided a civil war [because] many whites were presented with a choice between their political power and their consumer goods - and they quickly chose the latter.”  More over, the Afrikaner defeat was the result not so much of middle-class consumerism but of an ideological collapse.  The Afrikaner did not get open support in favor of racial culture and their fascistic attitude that led to unimaginable human rights violations.  Although there were class dimensions to the split, the Conservative Party, based more strongly on lower income Afrikaners than the National Party, the real line of division concerned the different ways of securing Afrikaner political survival.  The split ended the monopoly of the NP as a purely ethnic party and reduced its life span.

SOUTH AFRICA AND INDIA

It is very much clear that the ANC and the Indian National Congress (Congress-I) of India have adopted different approaches to development. The ANC clearly mentioned that a qualitative element of the National Democratic Revolution (NDR) had been accomplished. It is thus more inclined to socialistic character. This element of the NDR meant that the path to full transfer of power, let alone the strategic objective of a united, non-racial, non-sexist and democratic society, would be protracted and tortuous. Also, the democratic movement took formal control of the State machinery, with the possibility of starting, in earnest, to transform it to serve the new order, which include attainment of peace, democracy, human rights, socio-economic development and lasting security for all South Africans. The Congress party in India does not aim at these strategic and tactical positions in its party programmes. However, there is probably a potential role for the ANC and secular and Left parties in India to serve as a mediating body to deepen inter-governmental relations between South Africa and India.

The right wing parties have been marginalised and to a large extent have disappeared in South Africa as compared to India.  Presently, the concept or the idea of the volkstaat somewhat belongs to the past. Most of them have accepted that racial politics of the past cannot be sustained any longer. The right-wing parties regard South Africa as a socialist state. As an alternative, they propose to develop a particular desert area into a political unit  (Northern Province of South Africa). They wish to start with a city-state and would expand it like Luxembourg or Morocco. Then, at some stage in future, they wish to get complete independence.

Regarding the nature of State, the centrist and Left parties (mainly ANC, SACP and COSATU) in South Africa are, like the Left in India, in favour of strong public sector. like Telcom, Escom, Railways, Transnet, the South African Airways, Banking and so on.  Furthermore, there is a clear-cut tendency to move towards free-market dominated liberal or neo-liberal policies. Therefore, ANC has been accused of ignoring the interests of the poorer sections of society. In this context it is quite significant that in the June 1999 election ANC lost support in the three poorest provinces (whereas in 1994 election it secured highest number of votes) by three percent and today ANC regained it during April 2004 election because of its promises to work to reduce poverty, hunger and unemployment. Presently there are signs that ANC, under Mbeki, will be able to deal with these issues successfully and this success is likely to strengthen federal policies of rejuvenation of South African society and economy. The popular support enjoyed by the ANC, specially as manifested in its clear victory in this elections has brought on the national political scene a group of popular and experienced leadership which probably for essential is national unity and stability of the new democracy and growth of its newly constituted federal structures. The government should emphasize the importance of effective local government recognized in the constitution as a third tier of governance. The South African and the Indian constitution of the local sphere of government especially the experience of Kerala and West Bengal reaffirm the significance of this aspect.

The democratic alliance (DP and NNP) favours a free-market system and advocates privatisation rejected and thrown out by the South Africa majority. Now, as Indian voters exercise their franchise in the last phase of the polls, they should ensure that the rightist forces here meet the same fate.