杰拉尔德·伊姆雷 开普敦，南非 —— 非洲人国民大会（ANC）曾在南非超越政治层面，作为一个致力于以民主、平等和全民美好生活的崇高原则，将国家从种族隔离制度的压迫中解放出来的运动而存在。
GERALD IMRAY CAPE TOWN, South Africa — The African National Congress once rose above politics in South Africa as a movement dedicated to freeing the country from the oppression of apartheid with the lofty principles of democracy, equality and a better life for all.
1994年，在纳尔逊·曼德拉的领导下，非国大成为南非的执政党，当时它被广泛尊崇为一股向善的力量。曼德拉因反对种族隔离制度，曾被种族隔离政权监禁27年。
It was widely revered as a force for good when it became South Africa’s ruling party in 1994 under Nelson Mandela, who was imprisoned for 27 years by the apartheid regime for his opposition to the system of racial segregation .
但三十年后，非国大已从一个解放运动转型为执政党，却面临着南非民众日益增长的不满，民众认为它未能兑现承诺。
But three decades after the ANC transformed from a liberation movement to a political party in government, it faces growing dissatisfaction from South Africans who feel it has failed to live up to its promises.
周日公布的上周地方选举结果显示，该党得票率下降了15个百分点，仅为31%，南非选民以此惩罚其未能提供水、电等基本服务。
Results released Sunday from last week’s local elections showed the party’s share of the vote dropped 15 percentage points to just 31%, as South Africans rebuked it for failing to deliver basic services such as water and electricity.
非国大曾拥有70%的得票率且无人能敌，如今在地方选举中承认遭受挫折——这是其历史上最差的选举表现。该党秘书长称这是非国大的“灾难性结果”，并表示将进入一个反省期，以探讨如何赢回南非民众的信任。
The ANC, which once commanded 70% of the vote and had no challengers, conceded to being humbled in the local elections — its worst performance at the ballot box ever. The party’s secretary-general called it a “catastrophic outcome” for the ANC and said it would enter a period of soul-searching to see how it could win back the trust of South Africa’s people.
两年前，非国大在全国大选中以40%的得票率失去了议会多数席位。当时它认为这是一场灾难，也是一个自我反省的契机，但其支持者仍在持续流失。
Two years ago, the ANC lost its parliamentary majority in a national election with 40% of the vote. It considered that a disaster, and a chance for self-reflection, but its supporters have continued to desert it.
虽然种族隔离制度的终结赋予了每个南非人投票权和其他基本自由，但非国大面临的挑战是如何将其转化为更好的生活水平，尤其是为贫困的黑人多数群体。
While the end of apartheid gave every South African the right to vote and other basic freedoms, the challenge for the ANC was to convert that into a better standard of living for people, especially for the poor Black majority.
在取得一些早期成果后，非国大政府难以维持这一势头。南非拥有世界上最高的失业率之一，仍被列为最不平等的国家之一。
That was difficult for the ANC government to sustain after some early success. South Africa has one of the highest unemployment rates in the world and is still ranked as one of the most unequal countries .
其普遍的贫困——仍然不成比例地影响着黑人——引发了对非国大的大部分批评。非国大在2024年失去统治地位后，成为全国联合政府的主导政党。
Its widespread poverty — which still disproportionately affects Black people — spurs most of the criticism of the ANC, which became the leading party in a national coalition government after losing its dominance in 2024.
非国大经常指出，要扭转种族隔离制度下近半个世纪的种族主义法律，以及在此之前数百年的欧洲殖民主义，面临巨大困难。该党坚持认为，没有种族隔离的南非是一个好得多的国家，这无疑是事实。
The ANC has often pointed to the difficulties in reversing nearly a half-century of racist laws under apartheid and hundreds of years of European colonialism before that. It maintains that South Africa is a far better country without apartheid and that is undoubtedly true.
但对许多南非人来说，2026年最紧迫的问题归结为基本政府服务的失灵，全国各地的社区面临着社区缺电、供水和污水系统损坏或不存在、垃圾堆积街头，以及住房短缺导致数百万人居住在棚户区。这些问题被视为非国大近期支持率下滑的驱动力。
But the most pressing problems for many South Africans in 2026 boil down to a failure of basic government services, with communities across the nation faced with a lack of electricity in their neighborhoods, broken or nonexistent water and sewage systems, garbage piling up on streets and a shortage of housing that leaves millions living in shacks. Those issues were seen as the driving force behind the ANC’s latest slump in support.
根据世界银行的数据，南非6200万人口中近40%生活在低贫困线以下，而非国大官员及其盟友却卷入了一系列腐败丑闻，被指控中饱私囊。
While nearly 40% of South Africa’s population of 62 million live under the lower poverty line, according to the World Bank, ANC officials and allies have been implicated in enriching themselves in a succession of corruption scandals.
据称，腐败在前总统祖马执政时期尤为严重，他被指责任由长达十年的猖獗贪腐蔓延，直到2018年在压力下辞职。
Corruption is alleged to have been especially bad under former President Jacob Zuma , who was accused of allowing a decade of rampant graft to play out before he was pressured to step down in 2018.
现任总统拉马福萨在接替祖马时承诺整顿非国大，但他自己也卷入了一桩丑闻，涉及藏在其农场沙发里的50多万美元现金来源不明并被盗窃。
Current President Cyril Ramaphosa promised to clean up the ANC when he succeeded Zuma, but he has been involved in his own scandal over the source of more than half a million dollars in cash that was hidden in a couch at his ranch and stolen.
一个调查祖马时代腐败的司法委员会揭露了令人震惊的贪腐行为。一个新的委员会正在调查更近期的指控，涉及高级警官、政治官员和腐败商人勾结，其中包括据称从一家本应服务贫困社区的医院挪用了1.2亿美元以上资金。新丑闻也被视为非国大的失败。
A judicial commission investigating corruption in the Zuma era exposed shocking graft. A new commission is looking into more recent allegations of collusion between senior police officers, political officials and corrupt businessmen that include more than $120 million allegedly being misappropriated from a hospital meant to serve a poor community. The new scandals are also seen as the ANC’s failure.
自曼德拉1999年任满一届卸任总统以来，非国大一直受内斗困扰。
The ANC has been hampered by infighting since Mandela stepped down as president in 1999 after one term.
他的继任者姆贝基被迫下台，因为祖马动摇了他作为非国大领袖的地位。当腐败指控压倒性地涌现时，该党转而反对祖马。
His successor, Thabo Mbeki, was forced out as Zuma undermined his position as the head of the ANC. The party turned on Zuma when the corruption allegations became overwhelming.
祖马因与拉马福萨的争斗而脱离非国大，另组新的“民族之矛党”（MK Party），进一步分流了非国大的选票。
Zuma split from the ANC in a feud with Ramaphosa and started the new MK Party, which has further bled the ANC vote.
早期，非国大以自己是致力于自由和民主的“广泛教会”而自豪。如今，它像其他任何政党一样，拥有派系和分歧。
In its early days, the ANC celebrated that it was a “broad church” of people dedicated to freedom and democracy. It now has factions and divisions much like any other political party.
祖马曾声称非国大将统治南非“直到耶稣再来”。然而，从占据主导地位到失去大片支持，尤其是不记得种族隔离制度的年轻城市南非人。
Zuma once said that the ANC would govern South Africa “until Jesus comes back.”Yet from a dominant position, the ANC has lost swathes of support, especially among young urban South Africans who don’t remember apartheid.
尽管南非政治因许多新党赢得少量席位而变得碎片化，非国大仍凭借全国和地方最大党的地位维持住了局面。但其长期对手、由白人领导的民主联盟党在上周的市政选举中获得25%的选票，比以往任何时候都更接近超越非国大。
It has clung on as the biggest party nationally and locally as South African politics becomes fragmented with many new parties winning small shares. But the ANC’s longtime opposition, the white-led Democratic Alliance party , won 25% of votes in last week’s municipal elections to come closer than ever to overtaking it.
民主联盟党表示，这显示了其成为南非最大党的潜力，这在几年前会被视为荒谬的说法。美联社非洲新闻：
The Democratic Alliance said that showed its potential to be South Africa’s biggest party, which would have been seen as a preposterous claim a few years ago. AP Africa news: