Post-mortem on the province’s election

INTERNAL battles contributed a lot to the Congress of the People’s (Cope) poor performance in the recent elections.

This was according to Cope leader in Limpopo, Patrick Sikhutshi.

According to Sikhutshi, Cope had more than 15 000 members in Limpopo, but negative publicity played a role in the party’s poor performance in the elections.

He said they were disappointed with the results and needed to go out and strengthen party structures.

“We were in a better financial position than the last elections, but the party did not campaign enough.

“After the election, we had a provincial committee meeting, reflecting on the election results and we realised that we could have done much better,” he said.

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) commander-in-chief, Julius Malema, said he accepted the election results. He also called on EFF members to accept their defeat by the ANC.

“Many people were thinking that I would kneel down and cry in front of them.

“The EFF is here to stay. Some people were thinking that Malema was going to be history when the ANC expelled me.

“We have staged very successful campaigns countrywide. The election was highly contested because of the new kid on the block, the EFF,” he said.

Limpopo DA leader, Jacques Smalle, said they were pleased by the growth in support that the party achieved in the 2014 elections in Limpopo.

“We want to thank every single DA supporter who came out to vote.

“We received 6,5% of votes in Limpopo.

“This is up significantly from the 3,5% in the previous elections.

“We are on the growth path in Limpopo,” he said.

“We are particularly proud of the growth we have achieved in black communities across Limpopo.

Almost all of our new support in Limpopo came from black communities.

“It shows that our hard work in these areas is starting to translate into support,” he said.

ANC provincial secretary, Nocks Seabi, said the ANC in Limpopo would like to thank the more than 1,4 million people for casting their votes.

He said participating in the elections was part of strengthening democracy in South Africa.

“The ANC also appreciates the efforts of various task teams who worked tirelessly to rebuild the structures of the ANC throughout the province and ensured the general membership remained true and committed to this organisation.

“As we prepare to start the ANC’s next five-year term of government, we recommit the administration to improving the provision of and access to water, the efficiency of health services, and continuing the efforts to ensure quality education and sustainable living,” he said.