Mbeki Urges ANC to Focus on Survival After Local Election Setback

Former South African President Thabo Mbeki has called on the African National Congress (ANC) to prioritize its institutional survival over retaining positions in municipal governments. This comes after the party's worst electoral performance in a local government election, with the ANC receiving 30.76% of the vote on November 4, down from 45.59% in 2021. Mbeki, a former ANC president and ex officio member of the party's national executive committee (NEC), made the remarks in an interview on the African Renaissance Podcast.

The ANC's decline in support is particularly concerning, with Mbeki estimating that only about 10% of eligible adult voters supported the party in the latest election. In contrast, the party received about 70% of votes cast in 2004. Mbeki described the scale of the party's decline as a "disaster" that the ANC must address honestly. He pointed to poor service delivery as a problem, but not the only explanation for the electoral outcome.

Mbeki suggested that the ANC should examine the reasons behind its declining support, including negative perceptions of the party and some of its leaders. He cited internal party polling that had projected support of about 28% and identified leaders as a problem. "Some of your leaders are your problem," Mbeki said, describing what he had been told were findings of the party's internal research.

The former president also called on the ANC to revisit its longstanding commitment to organisational renewal, which was endorsed at national conferences but not implemented by the party's leadership. The ANC's 2017 national conference identified renewal as essential to the organisation's survival, and the commitment was reiterated at the party's 2022 conference.

Mbeki accused successive national executive committees of failing to implement the resolutions, questioning why the party's leadership had not acted on decisions taken by its highest decision-making body. He cited proposals developed by the ANC Veterans League after the 2017 conference, which outlined practical steps to implement renewal.

On the immediate question of coalitions, Mbeki backed the possibility of the ANC taking opposition benches in municipalities where it did not have sufficient support to lead. He said the party should respect voters' choices in municipalities where it had received the largest share of the vote and participate in forming governments in those areas.

The ANC faces difficult choices over its future role in municipal government, with the Democratic Alliance (DA) leading in several major metropolitan areas and the MK party emerging as a big force in KwaZulu-Natal. Mbeki's intervention comes before crucial meetings of the party's NEC, where it will consider its strategy for coalition negotiations.

Key points

• Mbeki urges ANC to prioritize institutional survival over retaining municipal government positions
• ANC's decline in support is attributed to poor service delivery and negative perceptions of the party and its leaders
• Mbeki calls for ANC to revisit organisational renewal commitment and implement practical steps to address decline