"Liberation-era parties eventually lose electoral dominance." Examine with reference to the decline of the African National Congress in South Africa.

The African National Congress (ANC) led South Africa out of apartheid through universal suffrage in 1994 and at times polled above 70%. In the 2026 local body polls it fell to just above 30%, its worst result ever [1]. Its decline largely confirms the statement: the legitimacy a party earns by ending apartheid wears away once it stops delivering.

Why the ANC's dominance eroded

• Delivery deficit: ANC rule lifted many Black citizens into better living conditions and education. Yet poverty now stands at 63% and expanded unemployment at 41% [1].
• Generational shift: youth (15–24) unemployment is 59.6% [4]. Voters born after apartheid judge the party on jobs, not on the liberation struggle.
• Corruption and factionalism have "hobbled" the party. The feud between the Zuma camp and the rest of the party marked the past decade [1].
• Splits, not swings: the feud produced a rival, the Zuma-led MK Party [7]. It won 14.58% in 2024, when the ANC slid to 40.18% and lost its majority [2]. A breakaway uses the same liberation story, so the votes it takes rarely come back.
• Structural inequality: South Africa's Gini of 0.67 is among the world's highest [4]. Grants cannot replace jobs: matching the effect of a 10-point cut in unemployment through transfers alone needs about 40% more transfers [5].

Limits of the generalisation

• Decline without replacement: the ANC still has the largest vote share and leads the Government of National Unity (GNU) [1][3]. The runner-up DA polled 21.81% [2]. Dominance is ending, but no successor has emerged.
• Performance, not time: the fall follows governance failures, so it is not automatic. Reform could slow it.
• Democracy working: the ANC accepted power-sharing peacefully. The National Assembly re-elected Ramaphosa on 14 June 2024 [3].
• Indian parallel: the Congress system also eroded through breakaways before India's coalition era.

Way forward

• GNU partners should make labour-market reform, which helps youth most [6], their shared jobs agenda.
• The ANC must curb corruption and deepen internal democracy to prevent further splits.
• India should anchor its ties with South Africa in BRICS, IBSA and G20, not in party-to-party links.

The ANC's slide supports the statement, with one caveat: liberation-era parties lose dominance when they stop delivering, not simply as time passes. If coalition partners agree on a jobs agenda, South Africa's move to accountable multi-party politics can strengthen its constitutional democracy, in line with SDGs 8 and 16.