The ANC believes it has turned the corner and is on an upward trajectory after suffering heavy losses in the May 29 elections.
This was the sentiment expressed by the party’s First Deputy Secretary-General Nomvula Mokonyane following a massive show of support during its rally in Pietermaritzburg yesterday.
Thousands of people turned up at the Caluza Stadium as the party celebrated its January 8 birthday. Party leaders estimated that about 25 000 people were in and outside the stadium attending the celebrations.
This, combined with the party’s success in recent by-elections, has led ANC leaders to assert that the party has turned the corner from the disappointing national general elections where it lost control of the country and suffered catastrophic electoral losses in KwaZulu-Natal with the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) winning the most votes in the province.
The ANC’s celebrations were attended by its senior leaders, including Mokonyane, Zizi Kodwa, Sihle Zikalala, and Bathabile Dlamini.
ANC KZN deputy chairperson Nomagugu Simelane told those that attended that their presence was an indication that the ANC was still very popular in the province.
Provincial chairperson Siboniso Duma said the morale was high.
“We had by-elections in Mzumbe, and the ANC won two of the six by-elections. We had been wiped out in those areas during the elections. In the Moses Mabhida region, there have been two by-elections, and the ANC won both. Out of 10 recent by-elections, the ANC has won five,” he said. “This party is dusting itself off; it’s growing, and it is still loved.”
Mokonyane said the ANC’s fortunes were on the rise again.
“The challenge that we are facing is a challenge of the party not created by the leadership. The electoral decline we have faced did not start now. The shock in these elections was that we did not expect our support to decline to 40%.
“What had happened is the treachery of a person who was a leader of this party, who knows how we work, sabotaged us from within. Many people who were disappointed with us as a party did not vote. That is why we, as a party, should go out, meet with the communities, and fix their problems so that they come back and vote.”
She emphasised that the current generation should work to ensure that the party continued to thrive.
“Even those who have left have reasons for why they left. We should understand why they left, who they followed, and when they are ready to return, we must debrief them on what they left, with whom, and for what purposes.
“We heard yesterday (Saturday) during a meeting from a community leader who told us that an official working for the ANC constituency was busy phoning them to inform them that they must vote for the other party I have ‘forgotten’ (essentially recruiting ANC members to vote for the MKP). This is a person we never thought could do this, yet we saw even the evidence of the SMS that this person was sending,” she said.
Despite its impressive showing in the national election, the MKP has struggled to perform in by-elections, in most cases in KZN the party has come second either to the IFP or to the ANC. It has, however, won two by-elections in other parts of the country.
The party has also faced upheavals within the leadership with senior leaders at national and provincial level being pushed out or resigning. The MKP recently removed Thobani Zuma, Kwazi Mbanjwa, and Sifiso Zuma in KZN for violating the party’s constitution.
Political analyst Siyabonga Ntombela cautioned that rallies and events cannot be an indicator of the party’s popularity, as these can be manipulated by providing people with food parcels and transport incentives.
“Just because people attended the rally does not mean they will vote for you. Others will listen, and if you say the wrong thing, they may turn away. By the time they leave, they are no longer your constituency.”
“By-elections are an indicator of your performance from the elections. People could be seeing that the ANC is self-correcting, that there is renewal, and that there are people deployed to positions and performing their duties.”
He noted, however, that the revolving door within the MK Party makes members uneasy, which could spill over to the public and create an impression of indecisiveness, as the MKP is not replicating its previous electoral success.
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