Mbeki Out in South Africa

Gayle Smith

What happened?

Well, we had some really interesting developments in South Africa over the weekend. President Thabo Mbeki, who has governed South Africa for nine years since Nelson Mandela stepped down as president just after the end of Apartheid, announced his resignation. And this came about as a result of a meeting of the African National Congress, the main party, of which Mbeki is a member, and Nelson Mandela also was, having met and determined that it was indeed time for President Mbeki to step down. He agreed with their findings and did announce over the weekend that he would resign as the president of South Africa, serving until which time all the constitutional obligation can be met attendant to making way for a new president.

Why does it matter? And what can we do?

This is a really major development. Obviously it's major for South Africa, because it means a change in the presidency, and there will be elections in the spring, and an interim president in the meantime, and Mbeki has, as I said, been president for nine years. I think for the United States this is a very significant development. Here is a very very powerful and influential country in the developing world, where there will be a change in the presidency based on democratic practice within a political party and within the executive branch of their government and with the Parliament. So it's a change that is enormous in its implicationsÑis historicÑbut its also come about in a way that, from all indications, is very democratic. That's not to suggest that there weren't controversies or issues that informed the ANC's decision. But I think nonetheless, the message for us is that we are seeing the growth and expansion of democratic practice around the world. I think it's a great sign for South Africa, including because South Africa has a lot of influence around the world given its history in the anti-Apartheid movement and the presidency of Nelson Mandela.

This is also really important because of a number of things going on in South Africa right now. FIrst, as many will remember, South Africa, in the form of President Mbeki, has been the regional lead on negotiations in Zimbabwe, where an agreement was just reached last week on a power-sharing arrangement. Now, whether President Mbeki will continue to hold that brief, or whether that will be transferred to the next president or some other official remains to be seem. But again, South Africa has played a prominent role in Zimbabwe as it does in regional issues across Africa.

The other reason this is significant is because one of the big debates in South Africa has been about economic policy and about the degree to which the majority of South AfricansÐthe black majority that is very poor, and was impoverished very very very deeply during the Apartheid eraÑwhether there has really been enough change on that front. And I think that there will be a demand from the population that more progress be made on the economic front, and progress that is spread across the ground, if you will, and really reaches a majority of South Africans. So I suspect that that will be one of the biggest issues facing the new president.