African National Congress (ANC)

The African National Congress (ANC) is a political party and Black nationalist organization in South Africa. Originally known as the South African Native National Congress (SANNC), it was formed in 1912 as a response to discrimination against Black people in the country. It went on to become one of the main groups opposing the apartheid system of government-sanctioned racial segregation in South Africa, including through militant activity, and was forced to operate in exile for decades. After apartheid ended, the ANC came to power in South Africa's 1994 election. It remained the dominant political party in the country into the 2020s, although it also faced significant criticism over alleged corruption and other issues.

Early History

The African National Congress (ANC) grew out of the complex sociopolitical environment in South Africa in the early twentieth century. The area had long been contested among colonial powers as well as native groups. The South African War (also known as the Second Boer War, 1899–1902) saw the British gain control of the former Boer republics of Transvaal and the Orange Free State, adding these to the British provinces of Cape and Natal. The four provinces were tasked to forge a union but struggled to work out the details. It took eight years of negotiations between the provinces to establish the Union of South Africa, which later became modern South Africa.

Delegates from the four provinces, however, settled on a form of government that excluded Black people—the majority of the population—from political participation. During negotiations, a few separate groups formed in opposition to the White-dominated proceedings. In 1909, they sent a group of delegates known as the South African Native Convention (SANC) to England to lobby for the objection to the proposed government. Nothing came of the meeting, however, and the South Africa Act of 1909 passed, officially forming the Union of South Africa.

Black activists continued to object to discriminatory legislation. On January 18, 1912, the South African Native National Congress (SANNC) was founded to coordinate such efforts. Initially, the group had a relatively moderate approach, focused on attaining voting rights and employment opportunities for people of color. It promoted reform and fought against racial discrimination. The SANNC sent delegates to petition the British government on a range of issues.

In 1923, the SANNC changed its name to the African National Congress (ANC). For the next few years, the ANC's influence on South African government was minimal. ANC president Alfred Xuma wanted to reform the organization and around 1940 began a concerted effort to recruit younger members. Some of these new members included Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, and Walter Sisulu. The trio, which formed the Youth League of the ANC in 1944, spearheaded a more radical approach to fighting discrimination.

Opposition to Apartheid

In 1948, the ruling National Party implemented apartheid, an official system of classification and segregation designed to give White people even more power. The ANC reorganized its fight and in 1952 launched the Defiance Campaign, which encouraged nonviolent acts such as protests, marches, strikes, and boycotts. In 1955, it adopted its Freedom Charter, which denounced apartheid. These activities brought strong backlash from the government, and ANC members were often arrested or otherwise harassed by the police. Notably, several key ANC leaders were arrested in 1956 and tried for treason.

As the National Party intensified its apartheid policies, some ANC members grew disillusioned with the nonviolent approach. In 1959, a group of more militant activists split off to form the Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC). The PAC played a key role in organizing large-scale protests in 1960 that resulted in the Sharpeville Massacre, in which South African police officers killed sixty-nine unarmed protesters. The government then banned both the ANC and PAC from operating. Although both groups continued to operate in secret, the ANC lacked any legal power to continue its mission. As a result, its leaders began to embrace violent measures to effect change.

In 1961, the ANC formed a military wing known as uMkhonto we Sizwe, also called MK or Spear of the Nation. Originally led by Mandela, MK carried out bombings and other guerilla activities, earning classification as a terrorist organization by the South African government. Many MK and ANC leaders, including Mandela, were quickly jailed or exiled. Basing itself in other countries, the ANC reorganized and continued its fight. The group received more domestic support as well as international attention after the 1976 Soweto uprising, a major anti-apartheid student demonstration that was met with a deadly police crackdown.

The ANC remained the most prominent anti-apartheid organization through the 1980s, with the struggle growing increasingly violent. By the end of the decade, many countries began to exert pressure on South Africa to end the conflict and the racist discrimination behind it. Finally, in 1990, South African president F. W. de Klerk lifted the ban on the ANC and opened negotiations to end apartheid. He released Mandela, who had been sentenced to life in prison during the 1960s, that same year. Mandela continued his work with the ANC and became its president in 1991.

Ruling Party

In the early 1990s, Mandela and the ANC worked closely with de Klerk and other government leaders to dismantle apartheid. The system officially ended when the country held its first fully democratic elections in 1994. Standing in an alliance with the South African Communist Party and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), the ANC won over 60 percent of the vote for the new South African legislature, the National Assembly. It then partnered with the next two most popular parties, the National Party and the Inkatha Freedom Party, to establish a Government of National Unity.

Once seated after the 1994 elections, the National Assembly elected Mandela to the presidency. He was the first Black president of South Africa, heralding a new era for the country. Under his administration, the ANC-led Government of National Unity developed a new national constitution. Mandela retired after one term in 1999. The ANC easily won the elections again that year, and Mandela's preferred successor, Thabo Mbeki, became president. Mbeki was elected to a second term in 2004.

Although it remained the dominant political force in South Africa, the ANC began to experience significant internal tensions in the twenty-first century. Mbeki aimed to retain his position as party leader in 2007 but was challenged by his former deputy Jacob Zuma, who had been ousted from Mbeki's administration in 2005 and accused of corruption and other misconduct. Capitalizing on mounting public frustration with stubborn socioeconomic challenges, Zuma countered that it was Mbeki who was corrupt and seeking to consolidate power. After a heated campaign, Zuma was named party president in December 2007. Tensions continued to escalate, and the ANC pressured Mbeki to resign his post as president of the country. He complied in September 2008 and was replaced by another ANC leader, Kgalema Mothlanthe.

The schism within the ANC led some party officials to break away and establish the Congress of the People (COPE) political party. Nevertheless, the ANC maintained its dominance in the 2009 general elections, taking about 66 percent of the vote. As a result, Zuma rose to the South African presidency. He was reelected party leader in 2012, overcoming a challenge from Mothlanthe, and maintained his place as national president after leading the ANC to another strong showing in the 2014 elections. However, various controversies swirled around Zuma and his administration, including frequent allegations of corruption. Another split in the ANC came in 2013, when former ANC Youth Leader established the rival Economic Freedom Fighters party. In 2016, the ANC saw a significant decline in support in municipal elections.

As scandals involving Zuma continued to develop, the ANC elected Cyril Ramaphosa—a longtime party member and prominent businessman who had stepped up as a vocal critic of Zuma—as party president in 2017. The ANC then pressured Zuma to step down from the national presidency, which he did with some reluctance in February 2018. Ramaphosa was elected by the National Assembly to take over the presidency, and he also remained head of the party. In the 2019 general elections the ANC remained in power despite another substantial drop in support, securing approximately 58 percent of the vote.

The ANC faced further challenges ahead of the 2024 general elections. In late 2023, Zuma (who maintained a strong following despite convictions and ongoing controversy) announced his support for the newly formed uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) political party, which took its name from the ANC's former military branch. The ANC argued that the MK Party had not qualified to run in the elections and that its name violated trademark law, but lost both legal cases. Then, in April 2024, ANC member Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula resigned as speaker of the National Assembly and was arrested on corruption charges.

Bibliography

Adeleke, Tunde. "African National Congress (ANC)." BlackPast.org, 15 Apr. 2008, www.blackpast.org/gah/african-national-congress-anc. Accessed 22 Apr. 2024.

"African National Congress (ANC)." South African History Online, www.sahistory.org.za/organisations/african-national-congress-anc. Accessed 22 Apr. 2024.

"ANC Origins and Background." South African History Online, www.sahistory.org.za/topic/anc-origins-and-background. Accessed 22 Apr. 2024.

Eligon, John. "Ex-Leader of South Africa Legislature Is Arrested on Corruption Charges." The New York Times, 3 Apr. 2024, www.nytimes.com/2024/04/03/world/africa/south-africa-speaker-resigns.html. Accessed 22 Apr. 2024.

"A History of the ANC." News24, 15 Dec. 2012, www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Politics/A-history-of-the-African-National-Congress-20121215. Accessed 28 June 2017.

Imray, Gerald. "South Africa's ANC Loses Another Court Case Against Rival Party Led by Former President Zuma." ABC News, abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/south-africas-anc-loses-court-case-rival-party-109493297. Accessed 22 Apr. 2024.

"South Africa Elections: ANC and Jacob Zuma Face Test." BBC, 3 Aug. 2016, www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-36960574. Accessed 28 June 2017.