University of Notre Dame Professor Laurie Nathan, a native of S. Africa, is available for comment on the election in S. Africa. His initial comments are below. The University of Notre Dame has a studio on campus, so we can easily set up TV or radio interviews.  

Prof. Nathan earned his Ph.D. from the University of Cape Town. He is a Senior Mediation Advisor to the United Nations, serves on the UN Academic Advisory Council on Mediation and is the lead designer and trainer of the UN High Level Mediation Course. He has participated in high-level peacemaking efforts in Africa and helped design the mediation units of the African Union and African sub-regional bodies. Prior to joining the Kroc Institute at Notre Dame, Nathan was professor and director of the Centre for Mediation in Africa at the University of Pretoria in South Africa, and director of the Centre for Conflict Resolution at the University of Cape Town.

“Over the past 15 years, the ruling ANC has been mired in rampant corruption, nepotism, factionalism and failure to deliver basic services. Yet it continues to command massive popular support. What accounts for this? The answer lies partly in the ANC's legacy as a liberation movement and partly in its hegemonic presence in the political arena. Popular support for the ANC is also due to the patronage it offers traditional leaders in rural areas and, perhaps most importantly, to the failure of opposition parties to present a viable alternative to the ANC.”

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