President Cyril Ramaphosa has attributed the ANC’s significant decline in the May 2024 general elections primarily to a failure in maintaining a rigorous door-to-door campaigning culture.
The ANC president made the remark on Monday while addressing the party’s fifth national general council (NGC) in Boksburg, Ekurhuleni. The four-day gathering, held under the theme “renewal”, is intended to review the party’s progress and discuss policy matters.
“I want to stress in our last election, if we are to be honest with each other, our door-to-door culture was not at its best,” Ramaphosa said. “We did not do vigorous door-to-door and as a result on election day we saw many people staying away from the polls.”
He said the low voter turnout among traditional supporters was “largely because they had never been touched by the ANC visiting their homes, visiting the locals they go to”.
Ramaphosa emphasised the lack of direct, personal engagement contributed to the party’s losses. The ANC suffered a significant decline in the May 2024 national elections, losing its parliamentary majority. It dropped from the 57.5% it achieved in 2019 to 40.18%. This forced the party to form the government of national unity (GNU) with other parties.
There is a need for us to renew our values and political culture by reintroducing meaningful initiatives to engage communities and serve the people ... Unless the ANC succeeds in renewing itself, we will perish
— ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa
Ramaphosa stressed the urgent need for the party to change its approach in preparation for the upcoming local government elections.
“We must therefore, as we approach the next local government elections, ensure we go back to basics. We go back to what has made us a strong organisation. Being closely connected and rooted with our people.”
Ramaphosa’s address was heavily focused on the party’s renewal policy, urging members to shed “bad habits”, including corruption, which have damaged the organisation’s image. He also called for new initiatives to effectively engage with and serve communities.
“There is also a need for us to renew our values and political culture by reintroducing meaningful initiatives to engage communities and serve the people.
“Unless the ANC succeeds in renewing itself, we will perish. We must build better and activist branches. We must revive sectorial work. We must strengthen the alliance. We must strengthen ANC values. We must reassert ANC values and principles and strengthen organisational integrity.”
TimesLIVE
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