A dent into ANC
Jan. 30th, 2009 10:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mahnmutSharp decline in ANC support at polls
While the ANC won most of the by-elections this week, it lost seats to newcomer Congress of the People, the Democratic Alliance and the Independent Democrats - and voting figures show a sharp decline in the ruling party's support across all six provinces where polls were held.
Votes for ANC municipal councillors fell by double-digit percentages in most of the wards.
Although the ANC won 23 of the 27 by-elections on Wednesday - and took two wards held by other parties - it lost four of its council seats to opposition parties.
COPE picked up two wards in the Khara Hais (Upington) and !Kheis municipalities, both of which the ANC won by 70percent-plus margins in the 2006 local government elections.
The DA claimed an ANC scalp in Musina, Limpopo, and the ID snatched an ANC ward in Garies in the Northern Cape.
COPE spokesperson Palesa Morudu on Thursday said her party was encouraged by the outcome.
"Despite the fact that we did not put a lot of resources into these by-elections - we relied almost entirely on our volunteers - we still managed to take two wards from the ANC and significantly reduced its majority in other areas," she said.
Morudu suggested that the results pointed to the ANC losing its two-thirds majority in the national and provincial elections.
ID leader Patricia de Lille was equally pleased, pointing out that her party improved on its 2006 performance in all but one of the wards.
"We really used these by-elections as a dry run for the national and provincial elections - to improve our visibility in the area. And I think we achieved that," she said.
De Lille noted that the ANC pulled out all the stops in these by-elections, with ID officials reporting that the ANC had "between 30 and 50 vehicles" at each polling station to cart voters to the polls.
"I have never seen the ANC this active in the Northern Cape. They really went to town," De Lille remarked.
But despite these efforts, the ANC suffered a significant decline in voter support across the country.
In one ward in Upington, the ANC saw its support drop from 74 percent in 2006 to just 45 percent.
A similar slide was seen in selected wards in Groblershoop (from 74 percent to 46 percent), Kimberley (from 94 percent to 67 percent), Joburg (89 percent to 68 percent) and in one of the ANC's traditional bastions, Alice in the Eastern Cape (97 percent to 73 percent).
The ANC however, on Thursday said reports that the party was losing support, particularly in the hotly contested Northern Cape, were "grossly exaggerated".
"While by-elections are not generally regarded as a reliable indicator of party support, the ANC is pleased to note that it won all by-elections in the Eastern Cape, Free State, KwaZulu Natal and Gauteng," a statement said.
Cosatu, an ANC ally, said: "While there is no room for complacency, these results clearly refute the suggestion that voters are abandoning the ANC en masse."
The ANC Youth League hailed the results as a "clear indication that the ANC will decisively win the 2009 general elections".
Meanwhile, the Freedom Front Plus on Thursday handed President Kgalema Motlanthe copies of its court application to enable all South Africans abroad to vote in the upcoming elections.
The party on Monday asked the Pretoria High Court for an urgent order declaring unconstitutional provisions of the Electoral Act limiting the right to vote of South Africans living and working overseas.
The case will be heard on Tuesday.
While the ANC won most of the by-elections this week, it lost seats to newcomer Congress of the People, the Democratic Alliance and the Independent Democrats - and voting figures show a sharp decline in the ruling party's support across all six provinces where polls were held.
Votes for ANC municipal councillors fell by double-digit percentages in most of the wards.
Although the ANC won 23 of the 27 by-elections on Wednesday - and took two wards held by other parties - it lost four of its council seats to opposition parties.
COPE picked up two wards in the Khara Hais (Upington) and !Kheis municipalities, both of which the ANC won by 70percent-plus margins in the 2006 local government elections.
The DA claimed an ANC scalp in Musina, Limpopo, and the ID snatched an ANC ward in Garies in the Northern Cape.
COPE spokesperson Palesa Morudu on Thursday said her party was encouraged by the outcome.
"Despite the fact that we did not put a lot of resources into these by-elections - we relied almost entirely on our volunteers - we still managed to take two wards from the ANC and significantly reduced its majority in other areas," she said.
Morudu suggested that the results pointed to the ANC losing its two-thirds majority in the national and provincial elections.
ID leader Patricia de Lille was equally pleased, pointing out that her party improved on its 2006 performance in all but one of the wards.
"We really used these by-elections as a dry run for the national and provincial elections - to improve our visibility in the area. And I think we achieved that," she said.
De Lille noted that the ANC pulled out all the stops in these by-elections, with ID officials reporting that the ANC had "between 30 and 50 vehicles" at each polling station to cart voters to the polls.
"I have never seen the ANC this active in the Northern Cape. They really went to town," De Lille remarked.
But despite these efforts, the ANC suffered a significant decline in voter support across the country.
In one ward in Upington, the ANC saw its support drop from 74 percent in 2006 to just 45 percent.
A similar slide was seen in selected wards in Groblershoop (from 74 percent to 46 percent), Kimberley (from 94 percent to 67 percent), Joburg (89 percent to 68 percent) and in one of the ANC's traditional bastions, Alice in the Eastern Cape (97 percent to 73 percent).
The ANC however, on Thursday said reports that the party was losing support, particularly in the hotly contested Northern Cape, were "grossly exaggerated".
"While by-elections are not generally regarded as a reliable indicator of party support, the ANC is pleased to note that it won all by-elections in the Eastern Cape, Free State, KwaZulu Natal and Gauteng," a statement said.
Cosatu, an ANC ally, said: "While there is no room for complacency, these results clearly refute the suggestion that voters are abandoning the ANC en masse."
The ANC Youth League hailed the results as a "clear indication that the ANC will decisively win the 2009 general elections".
Meanwhile, the Freedom Front Plus on Thursday handed President Kgalema Motlanthe copies of its court application to enable all South Africans abroad to vote in the upcoming elections.
The party on Monday asked the Pretoria High Court for an urgent order declaring unconstitutional provisions of the Electoral Act limiting the right to vote of South Africans living and working overseas.
The case will be heard on Tuesday.
