Realism set in in Mogale City after the August 3 poll, when the ANC realised that its massive local government election defeat was not an isolated occurrence but part of a national picture.
Sanco’s Maki Legwete branch, Ward 11, and Kagiso executive committee members (BEC) met until late into the night of Thursday 18 August to discuss the reason why the ANC only achieved 48 per cent of the vote in Mogale City, with the DA following closely with 34,88 per cent, the EEF with 11,65 per cent and the FF Plus with 2,29 per cent.
Chairperson of Sanco Mogale City’s Zonal Task Team, Raliphi George Master Push Xolelizwe has suggested that the electoral system disadvantages the party. But an expert at the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) said the update to the formula only dealt with the number of seats per council based on voter registration, and not the calculation of seats.
A Sanco delegate from Lewisham said the rules, a combination of which aim at proportional representation and directly electing ward councillors, were never a problem for the ANC when they were winning by huge margins and controlling the city. “Now that their electoral fortunes have changed, we are told the rules are unfair and need to be debated.”
Xolelizwe emphasised that the ANC is not crying foul. He is not saying that the IEC acted unethically and deliberately gave opposition parties an advantage.
For the first time ever, the ANC would have had to enter into a coalition to run Mogale City, as the party fell 2 per cent short of the 50 per cent of the vote needed to achieve an outright win.
Master Push provided a “brutal but honest”assessment report for the poor performance of the ANC in the elections at the Mogale City general meeting at Bosele Primary School on August 21.
As he delivered his assessment, he spared no structure of the alliance from his constructive criticism. From the branches, provincial structure, the women’s and youth leagues, MKVA and its working relationship with alliance partners, everyone got their fair share from Xolelizwe. He even dealt with what he said was the greatest challenge to the ANC: the fiasco surrounding the president, Jacob Zuma.
