Watch: ‘We’re not losers,’ says ANC despite losing significant national support

Despite the ruling party’s electoral numbers falling below the 50% mark, the ANC does not see itself as a loser, saying the party is not desperate for coalitions with those that spoke out against working with them.

Speaking from the IEC’s national Results Operations Centre (ROC) in Tshwane on Wednesday afternoon, ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte accused the media of promoting a narrative that they were “losers”. This isn’t true, she said, since the ANC was still the party with the majority of the vote.

According to the IEC at the time, the ANC was in the lead with 46.02% nationally, followed by the DA at 21% and the EFF at 10.33%.

This, Duarte insisted, meant the ANC was still a winning party.

“We are not losers here. As far as we are concerned, we are the winning party on that board. We are the leading party on that board. Our numbers have gone down and we have given you the objective reasons why. That does not make you a loser but makes you a pragmatic party that understands why it is where it is.

“Also, we do not disrespect the electorate. They have spoken. They have put us in the position they put us in and we are not uncomfortable with that position. I think we need to say to you [the media], who’s narrative it has been,” she said.

Meanwhile, the extended National Working Committee (NWC) consisting of national and provincial leaders is expected to meet between Thursday and Friday this week, to forge a strategy for coalition talks. This is according to ANC spokesperson for the Greater Johannesburg Regional Branch, Sasabona Manganye.

“The extended NWC is going to sit on Friday if not Thursday and it is going to give us a way forward to handle the coalition talks. There has been no formal engagement as yet with anyone and we will be guided by the decision of the NWC,” he says.

However, the ANC would not go into a coalition with a party that has a racist agenda, does not believe in local economic development or black economic empowerment, Duarte explained.

ANC treasurer-general Paul Mashatile also insisted that they wouldn’t be begging any party for a coalition as they were not desperate. 

“When people don’t want to, why do you follow them? We are not desperate. Those who want to work with us, our doors are open. Those who say ‘no’ to the ANC, we are not going to chase them. But our door is open. We want to work with parties that put people first.

“Coalitions are messy if you start on the wrong footing. That is why we are carefully considering going into it. Firstly, when we go into government, we want to deliver services to our people. Therefore, we must choose to work with those who help us to pursue that agenda. If we approach it that way, it won’t be messy,” said Mashatile.

The party’s comments follow an announcement by Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen that the national opposition has officially opened up coalition engagements with an agreement document it sent to selected political parties on Wednesday.

Manganye says he isn’t aware of any reports that the DA has reached out to the ruling party, but points out that the ANC’s transformation policies are a deal-breaker.

The DA has publicly criticised the ANC’s stance on Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) and cadre deployment policies in its hiring and procurement practices at municipal level during its 2021 election campaign.

ANC takes its losses on the chin

The ANC acknowledged in its Wednesday afternoon statement that voters have clearly expressed their anger at the party in this election.

“The low voter turnout, especially in traditional ANC strongholds, communicates a clear message: The people are disappointed in the ANC with the slow progress in fixing local government, in ensuring quality and consistent basic services, in tackling corruption and greed,” said the party in a statement on Wednesday afternoon.

The party notes that recent coalitions the party has been involved in have been unstable, and the party has moved to avoid this by laying down the gauntlet on its core principles.

“Most of these coalitions which were led by the opposition have been untidy, messy and premised on gaining power as an end in itself. This has resulted in unstable and self-serving ‘marriages of inconvenience’.

“To avoid this type of political and administrative instability, the ANC will consider an approach with likeminded parties,” the statement reads.

Despite efforts to improve voter support which was marred by tumultuous leadership changes since the 2016 local government election, the DA appears to have lost votes to newcomer ActionSA in some metros, while the Economic Freedom Fighters has seen more growth than the DA and the ANC in this year’s poll.

rorisangk@citizen.co.za