SACP leader Blade Nzimande has warned that there were a number of factors that led to low voter turnout.
He said factors contributing to the decline in voter turnout include internal divisions within the ANC, factional conduct, and situations where alliance partners were marginalised.
The ANC has again claimed victory as the governing party in the country, but a decline in voter turnout and the ruling party’s support has seen voters turning to either opposition parties or not participating in voting due to a lack of confidence within the party.
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), on Thursday evening, will make the official announcement on the results.
Nationally, 97% of the voting has been captured.
In 2016, the ANC led the pack with 53.91%. Current figures show that the party has obtained 45.94%.
Nzimande said the SACP would conduct a detailed assessment of the results and develop the way forward.
“However, we have initial observations to highlight. The results that started emerging were predictable. This is why during the campaign, we sought to turn the tide against or, at least, limit the extent of the decline. There were service delivery problems affecting a number of communities across the country.
“Problems within our broad movement, such as internal divisions and counter-campaigning of the ANC, factional conduct, and situations where Alliance partners were marginalised, resulting in divided communities and a failure to provide quality services,” Nzimande said.
He added, going forward, the ANC needs greater internal unity, an alliance stronger than before, the widest possible support from the masses through maximum unity and strengthening of service delivery.
Nzimande further emphasised the ANC needs Cosatu and SACP to survive.
“Those who think otherwise, those who think that the ANC can survive and do well by abandoning the Alliance, will cause more harm to the ANC and its nature and character. To allow that to take precedence would be tantamount to paving the way for the abandonment of the path of a national democratic revolution and strengthening the counter-revolutionary current, of which some elements are to be found within the ranks of our broad movement.”
Cosatu’s national spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said the ruling party needs to do introspection.
“The numbers are disappointing but not shocking. Factionalism, corruption, mismanagement of the economy, SOEs, and municipalities. Load shedding and other myriads of reasons have led to voter apathy.
“Factionalism and infighting are some of the contributing factors,” he said.
Pamla said it is time for the party to fix the economy, sort out corruption, and hold the deployed people accountable if any wrongdoing presents itself.
“The organisation needs to do an introspection. The low voter turnout is proof that South Africans are running out of patience. People have lost confidence because of unfulfilled promises,” Pamla said.
tarryn-leigh.solomons@inl.co.za
Political Bureau