‘Blame weak opposition for leading party’s poll successes’
The ANC continues to be the darling of the electorate despite its corrupt leaders and poor service delivery record because black voters don’t see an alternatives among the current opposition parties.
As shown in the results of recent by-elections, the ANC will continue to perform well because it is seen as a party of liberation which puts bread on the table for the poor, analysts say.
They say as long as the opposition remains weak and fails to convince the majority of voters that they, too, can rescue them from poverty and provide their basic needs when in power, the ANC will remain the poor voters’ favourite.
Political analyst Dr Ralph Mathekga said: “People vote for the ANC because there is no tangible alternative. This speaks to the opposition parties as to what they really offer, why they fail to be an alternative to what is being experienced under the ANC.”
Economic analyst Zamikhaya Maseti said it all had to do with the profile of the South African voter comprising the historically disadvantaged masses with Africans, in particular, seeing the ANC as a messiah.
“The ANC had been this beacon of hope from 1912 to 1994 . To our people, that liberation heritage is still very important. This is further complicated by the issue of the National Question which defined the way in which people were oppressed as black people and as Africans in particular, as women, and as the poor.”
In the midst of the arrest on corruption charges of ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule and his appearance at the party integrity commission, the ANC did well in last week’s by-elections, taking two DA seats in Oudtshoorn in the Western Cape and all three seats from the Better Residents’ Association in Bushbuckridge in Mpumalanga.
This was preceded by a good performance in previous by-elections on 11 November when the opposition parties – the Democratic Alliance and the Economic Freedom Fighters – underperformed. The ANC hoped this trend would continue in next year’s local government elections.
The ANC’s performance rose despite some of its top leaders facing allegations or even charges of corruption in courts and before the party’s integrity commission.
Among the top brass with court cases are Magashule, ANC MP Bongane Bongo and the long-standing criminal cases against former party president Jacob Zuma.
Others were yet to appear before the integrity commission include President Cyril Ramaphosa’s former aide, Khusela Diko, and former Gauteng health MEC Dr Bandile Masuku.
“We need to reach a point where the SA voter, either in the rural areas or squatter camps, will understand that any government in a position of power, whether it’s the ANC, DA or UDM, will still provide those houses they get from the ANC. That is the message the opposition parties are not able to put across,” Maseti said.