Almost complete results in South Africa's local government elections yesterday underpinned the status of the Democratic Alliance (DA) as a viable opposition party.
The DA appeared certain of winning about 23 per cent or well over the combined tally of 17 per cent garnered in last year's general election by its component parts, the Democratic Party, the New National Party and the Federal Alliance.
Mr Tony Leon, the DA leader, wasted little time in announcing that, instead of the opposition withering away, a two-party system was emerging.
The ruling African National Congress suffered a minor setback. Its share of the vote appeared to be congealing around 60 per cent, six percentage points lower than its share in the general election.
Though relatively small, the decline was significant. The ANC appeared to have shed its image as an invincible liberation movement and to have assumed the image of just another political party.
As late results poured in, Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi's Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) emerged as the main beneficiary. Its share of the poll more than doubled from barely 4 per cent to just over 9 per cent, with nearly all of its votes drawn from the heavily populated rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal.
The smaller parties and the relatively large number of independent candidates were all but obliterated.