Ramaphosa noted the ANC lost its majority nationally and in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, in particular due to the MK party.
In a rare moment of candour, President Cyril Ramaphosa acknowledged that Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party siphoned support from the ANC, directly contributing to its electoral decline and underscoring Zuma’s enduring role as a destabilising force within the movement.
He also admitted that citizens’ anger over endemic corruption, unemployment and poor service delivery played a decisive role in the ANC’s record electoral loss.
Ramaphosa reflects on ANC’s historic electoral decline
Opening the ANC national general council (NGC) and delivering his political report as party president yesterday, Ramaphosa described the May 2024 general election, in which the ANC received 40% of the vote, as a severe strategic setback.
“We received only 40% of the national vote. This was the first time since the advent of democracy that our share was less than 50%,” he said.
“While the ANC remains the most supported party, with almost twice as many votes as the next party, we suffered our greatest drop in support since 1994.”
Ramaphosa noted the ANC lost its majority nationally and in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, in particular due to the MK party.
“Among other things, the drop in support can be linked to the emergence of the MK party, dissatisfaction with the economy and unemployment, service delivery challenges, and anger about perceptions of widespread corruption. The record low voter turnout of 58% affected the ANC more than other parties,” he said.
MK party’s rise and shifting political forces
The MK party, established by Zuma on 16 December, 2023, contested the May 2024 election and rose to become the third-largest party in the country, winning KwaZulu-Natal and displacing the ANC.
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However, a coalition government involving the Inkatha Freedom Party, ANC, DA and National Freedom Party ousted MK, confining it to opposition benches in the provincial legislature.
Experts such as Prof Ntsikelelo Breakfast argued the ANC may never recover from the political oblivion it faces, while ANC stalwart Mathews Phosa predicted the party could drop to as low as 26% in future polls.
The ANC itself, however, expressed hope it might improve its fortunes through campaign efforts closer to the next election and by apologising to voters for past mistakes.
Ngc debates internal renewal and future strategy
Ramaphosa’s report emphasised that the May 2024 election reaffirmed the entrenchment of South Africa’s democracy, which he described as “robust and enduring”.
He noted it was the most contested election in 30 years, with a proliferation of parties and, for the first time, independent candidates.
“However, it was a severe strategic setback for the ANC,” he said.
The NGC, unlike the powerful five-yearly national elective conference where leadership elections and policies are endorsed by branch delegates, is a midterm gathering to review policy implementation progress.
This renders Ramaphosa’s position safe unless rogue delegates demand that he or the entire national executive committee (NEC) step down due to the ANC’s poor showing.
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Ramaphosa’s leadership hand remains strengthened since his election in 2017 and re-election in 2022.
He is serving his last term, which ends in 2027, when the party will elect a successor.
Cost of living and social support pressures
In his report, Ramaphosa said delegates to the NGC were called upon to reflect on 30 years of democracy, assess the balance of forces, characterise the nature of the crises confronting the ANC and consider implications for the National Democratic Revolution.
Delegates must also determine what should be done to address challenges facing the nation and the organisation and interrogate how the ANC must unite, strengthen and renew against this backdrop.
On poverty, Ramaphosa said that about 61% of the national budget after debt service costs goes toward the social wage, including social grants, education, health care, housing and free basic services.
He said the rising cost of living has devastated households, with the poor and working class most vulnerable.
In line with resolutions of the ANC’s 55th national conference, which instructed the NEC to prioritise addressing the cost of living, Ramaphosa said the party had taken steps to mitigate the crisis.
These included increasing funding to municipalities to provide free basic services to needy households, raising the value of social grants and expanding the list of VAT zero-rated food items.
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