ANC loses 15 points but keeps Ramaphosa
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Africanews
South Africa’s ANC lost 15 points of the vote to 31% in local elections, while its spokesperson said Cyril Ramaphosa would remain president. The party leadership must examine the setback and negotiate coalitions in municipalities without a majority, according to ANC’s Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri.
The national spokesperson for the African National Congress (ANC), Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri, said on Thursday that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa would not resign after the local elections, despite the party’s sharp decline in support. She rejected reports that Ramaphosa had offered to step down, according to Africanews citing the Associated Press.
The ANC won 31% of the vote, 15 points less than in the previous local elections, its worst electoral result according to the party. Its secretary-general described the result as “catastrophic” and announced a period of introspection to regain voters' trust, Africanews reports.
The party must now negotiate with other political formations to form coalitions in municipalities where no list won an absolute majority. The ANC’s national executive committee must review initial discussions with these parties and adopt a mandate for the team responsible for the negotiations, according to Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri.
Thursday’s meeting came after former South African President Thabo Mbeki called for the resignation of the ANC leadership, in comments published on 10 November, followed by public exchanges between Mbeki and the ANC Youth League on 11 November. The results of the ANC local elections had already shown the party’s decline in several major cities.
