Editor's note

South Africans spent the weekend digesting the outcome of the country’s national and provincial elections. The African National Congress’s victory was confirmed on Saturday night local time. But it came with some caveats. The first is that, for the third consecutive election the party has suffered a decline in electoral support. Christopher Isike unpacks the reasons for this, comparing its shrinking support with other once hegemonic parties that have failed to stand the test of time. Another caveat is that many voted for the party because they believe in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s leadership. But, as Richard Calland explains, this could be the last chance the voters give the party. For their part Dirk Kotze and Keith Gottschalk lay out the history of the Freedom Front Plus, a party with a traditionally Afrikaans base, and the reasons for its uptick in voter support.

Madagascar is one of the world's most special natural environments. But deforestation, illegal hunting and the international pet trade have pushed many plants and animals to the brink of extinction. Sarobidy Rakotonarivo sets out five actions that President Andry Rajoelina has to take to save some of the island’s unique species.

Thabo Leshilo

Politics + Society Editor

Top Stories

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa cheers during the results announcement ceremony in Pretoria, South Africa. EPA-EFE/Yeshiel Panchia

Factionalism and corruption could kill the ANC – unless it kills both first

Christopher Isike, University of Pretoria

Why do once mighty political parties sometimes collapse? Two reasons that have driven some into obscurity are corruption and conflicts within the party. The ANC suffers from both.

Cyril Ramaphosa has led South Africa’s African National Congress to its sixth electoral victory. But he’s got his work cut out. EPA-EFE/Yeshiel Panchia

Ramaphosa saves the ANC’s bacon. But this could be its last chance

Richard Calland, University of Cape Town

Some have argued that were the ANC to win 60% or more in this election, it would have given the party a blank cheque for further larceny

Sunset at Madagascar’s avenue of the baobabs in Morondavo. Chr. Offenberg/Shutterstock

Five actions Madagascar’s president must take to save country’s biodiversity

Sarobidy Rakotonarivo, University of Stirling

President Rajoelina's five-year term, starting in 2019, may be the last chance to avoid habitats and species from going extinct.

Politics + Society

The black Muslim female fashion trailblazers who came before model Halima Aden

Kayla Renée Wheeler, Grand Valley State University

Hijab-wearing model Halima Aden will be featured in Sports Illustrated's annual swimsuit edition. Here's why her success needs to be viewed in context of a long history of black Muslim women's fashions.

What Nigerian students told us about transactional sex on campus

Oludayo Tade, University of Ibadan

In some Nigerian universities, wealthy female students engage in trasnactional sex for pleasure, while those that needed financial support did it for the money.

From our international editions

Biodiversity collapse: the wild relatives of livestock and crops are disappearing

Philip McGowan, Newcastle University; Friederike Bolam, Newcastle University; Louise Mair, Newcastle University

Biodiversity is in crisis. Nowhere is this more serious than among the wild species which our livestock and crops descend from.

Venezuela’s soaring murder rate has plunged the nation into a public health crisis

José Manuel Aburto, University of Southern Denmark; Jenny Garcia, Institut National d'Études Démographiques (INED)

At the beginning of the 1980s, homicides were relatively rare in Venezuela. Now, it's one of the most dangerous countries in Latin America.

What should British universities do about benefits received from past wrongs?

Steven Greer, University of Bristol

History is complex and multi-dimensional. Any response to what happened in the past should reflect this.

How I stumbled on a lost plant just north of Antarctica

Nick Fitzgerald, University of Tasmania

This small herb hadn't been seen on Macquarie Island since it was first recorded in 1983, despite several searches over the next 30 years.

 
 
 
 

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