The African National Congress (ANC), the party that has ruled South Africa since the end of the apartheid era, was battered in local elections earlier this month. While it is premature to assume this foretells the end of ANC rule, it should wake the party up and force it to get more serious about politics. It has lost the "right" to rule and must now prove its bona fides. It is a long overdue realization and one that should pay great dividends to the people of South Africa.

The ANC has governed South Africa since apartheid ended and Nelson Mandela, the human rights icon, came to power in 1994. The party has won every election since then, dominating politics at the national and local levels. The margin of victory has shrunk in recent years, although some of that stems from a split in the ANC in 2008 and the departure of several top leaders. That schism did not threaten the party's grip on power, however.

In the local elections held Aug. 3, however, the ANC won just 54 percent of all votes cast. That is still a majority, but it is a symbolic defeat for a party that has won more than 60 percent of the vote at every national election since the end of apartheid. The damage was compounded by the defeat it suffered in several key constituencies, including that of Nelson Mandela Bay, which has been the home or birthplace of several ANC leaders, Mandela among them. The ANC's rejection here — the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) won 46.5 percent of votes, while the ANC claimed 41 percent, a drop of 11 percentage points from five years ago — is the one of the most stinging rebukes possible. The DA is expected to form a coalition government there that will govern an area long considered an ANC stronghold.