On first glance, the results of South Africa's elections last week seem unremarkable: South Africans went to the polls,albeit in huge numbers, with a turnout of more than 77%. They once again supported the African National Congress (ANC) in whopping numbers. They even brought to power Jacob Zuma, a man who has been accused and acquitted of rape, and who has been accused and mostly exonerated of corruption that brought down others.

What on the surface seems to be an election that simply confirmed status quo ante in fact reveals significant roiling transitions beneath the placid surface. For those who fear that South Africa is moving toward indomitable one-party rule there is much evidence indicating powerful contrary trends. As has been the case with every election since the negotiated settlement of the early 1990s, the very reality of a peaceful and truly liberal democratic election still ought to serve as a reminder of South Africa's many strengths and status as a beacon for the rest of the continent. South Africa's democracy is imperfect, but its imperfections should not blind its critics to its many strengths, especially in the context of sub Saharan Africa.

The African National Congress: (Almost 11.7 million votes, 65.9%) Still the king of the hill, the ANC has every reason to be happy. Now let's see what it does with a mandate that is somewhat smaller than that enjoyed by Thabo Mbeki after the 2004 elections and that falls short of the magical 2/3 majority that would allow the ANC to modify the constitution at will. Jacob Zuma has completed the cycle of redemption, at least in the eyes of his supporters. And for now the ANC continues to reign supreme.

But with the latest challenge behind it, the question remains: Can the party continue to balance the interests of such a varying constituency ranging from the demands of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU)-South African Communist Party (SACP) on the left to the free market left-centrists who comprise so much of the party's pragmatic leadership core? Theoretically the split between the ANC and the defectors of the Congress of the People (COPE) might have allowed the party to cleave along ideological lines. But the party's fissures over the last eighteen months have been a function of personality, not policy or ideology. The internal tensions within the ANC will thus continue, especially if the COSATU-SACP alliance believes (falsely, I would argue) that it has been empowered by the party's recent tumult and the election results.

The Democratic Alliance: (Almost 3 million, 16.66%) Helen Zille and her supporters probably awoke on Thursday every bit as happy as those in the ANC. Even with the presence of the Congress of the People (COPE), not only does the DA continue on as the official opposition, but it added considerable sums to its vote totals and it gained control of the Western Cape, the only province that did not give the bulk of its support to the ruling party.

Many were sure that the DA would be the big losers when all of the votes were counted. Not so. It still seems, however, that a party primarily led by, and perceived to disproportionately consist of, white South Africans, even if of a putatively “liberal” disposition, is in the long-term untenable as anything more than an opposition party. The DA, to its great credit, brilliantly maneuvered between the ANC-COPE schisms. Helen Zille continues to reveal herself to be a talented politico. And if COPE fades away into obsolescence, or finds itself subsumed by either the DA or the ANC, the DA will continue as the opposition for the foreseeable future. But rather than simply revealing the DA's burgeoning strength, this election represents that there is a place for a consolidated and growing oppositional force in South Africa. Despite the DA's demonstrable successes, it is still debatable whether the party provides the best locus for that counterweight to the ANC in the long run.

Congress of the People: (Just over 1.3 million, 7.42%) The high-profile defectors from the ANC to COPE, a party that started off with so much hope, have to feel as if they have been kicked in the shins. Once expected to challenge the ANC for national supremacy, COPE proved an afterthought even to the Democratic Alliance, over which it ought to have had many advantages. COPE is probably going through many existential throes this week. The party still has a great deal of promise, but can it survive such an ignominious defeat? Will the desire for instant gratification lead to recrimination or determination? If the former, expect the party to split amidst much acrimony from within and schadenfreude from without. If the latter, this disappointment could actually give way to a significant political movement if given five years to build.

In the short run the temptation will be either to ally with the DA to provide one relatively unified voice of opposition, or else to run, tail betwixt legs, back to the ANC if the ruling party will have them without extracting too much flesh in the process. But while both of those temptations may be great, and while there has to be a measure of embarrassment within the COPE hierarchy, a long-range strategy, with a coherent party platform and a consistent message could bear fruit down the road. It is ironic, given the decades the opposition spent in the wilderness during the apartheid years, that patience is rarely a virtue revealed in South African politics. Yet a patient and chastened COPE could be a force in years to come if it is willing to do the admittedly hard, tedious, and seemingly Sisyphean work of party building.

Inkatha Freedom Party: (Just over 800,000, 4.56%) Once the power broker in KwaZulu-Natal and a force that Nelson Mandela had to caress in order to ensure that the 1994 elections could proceed smoothly, Mangosutho Buthelezi's IFP has been consigned to irrelevance. The party even got stomped in its own backyard. For those who fear that politics in South Africa will break along ethnic lines, the IFP's withered countenance should serve as a nice corrective. Outside of the Buthelezi household it is hard to argue that the IFP will be missed.

Everyone Else: Perhaps the day of the minor party profusion in South Africa is over. Surely there will be a few unreconstructed parties advocating white separation, which is just an impotent version of white supremacy, and perhaps some hard-line or one-issue parties, but depending on what happens to COPE, South Africa may have seen a process whereby three parties have emerged as legitimate national presences. Whether this development is good or bad for the country's democracy remains to be seen, but it is hard to figure how the mass of tiny parties really served either the country or its democracy in any meaningful way. Two or three legitimate opposition parties seem to me better than a dozen ineffectual ones.

In sum, the ANC appears to have continued its virtually uncontested dominance. But a closer look at the contours of South African politics indicates that beyond the surface, the country's democracy is in a state of flux that holds perils but also presents opportunities. As is usually the case with elections, far from representing a culmination, these represent the beginning of a new era, the Age of Zuma. Something tells me that given the profoundly personalized nature of South African politics, the next five years will not lack for excitement. Zuma got what he wanted. Now we shall see what he does with it. We know that the DA and COPE and the restless constituencies within the ANC will be watching closely.

Derek Catsam is the FPA's Africa blogger. He is a history professor at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin and writes about race and politics in the United States and Africa. His latest book, Freedom's Main Line: The Journey of Reconciliation and the Freedom Rides, was published earlier this year.