South Africa’s ruling party suffering biggest electoral blow

The DA has continued to lead the pack since the start of the vote counting and the party is now at 44.37% while the ANC is neck-and-neck with 41.21%.

The DA was on 26 per cent with the radical leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) on eight percent, according to official results today morning. But it has also claimed an ANC stronghold in the Eastern Cape community near Mandela’s hometown, Port Elizabeth, and is neck and neck with the ANC for political control of the capitol city of Pretoria and Johannesburg.

The provincial executive committee of the African National Congress chapter in Gauteng said in a statement April 12, “Our president, comrade Jacob Zuma, should reflect deeply and do the right thing to resolve the unprecedented crisis that the ANC now faces”.

The ANC’s defeat in a region named after Mandela is a major embarrassment and could prompt a challenge to Zuma, whose folksy “man of the people” appeal has been damaged by scandal and his struggle to understand the needs of a sophisticated emerging market economy.

The final count is expected to be concluded Friday, AFP reported.

The results may weaken President Jacob Zuma’s position inside the ANC, because the outcome may be attributed to a scandal about state funding for the refurbishment of his private residence and court decisions to reinstate corruption charges, Fitch said.

Whether the DA and EFF will deliver on the ANC’s broken promises and bring more jobs, cheaper power, cleaner streets and more accountable public servants to residents in their new jurisdictions is hard to say. Encompassing Port Elizabeth and the surrounding rural area, the area was a hotbed of anti-apartheid activism which won the name in 2001.

The party’s showing in this week’s municipal elections fell well below the 60 percent threshold that the party’s secretary general, Gwede Mantashe, identified in a report in October as “a psychological and political turning point that would be interpreted as an indication of the demise of the movement”.

Nelson Mandela Bay Metro Mayor-elect Athol Trollip has said the Democratic Alliance (DA) will set about its task immediately to turn the city into a world class and internally recognised area within the next five to ten years.

“In many respects the elections were exactly about national issues, national policy failures and poor national leadership as much as they were about local issues and local problems”, said Gary van Staden, political analyst with NKC African Economics.

The Forum 4 Service Delivery (F4SD) formed by former ANC councillors who were not happy with the party’s candidate selection process, obtained four seats.

“We want to thank the people of South Africa for giving us the keys to the classroom of a historic lesson on humility for the ANC”.

“We have shown some incredible growth”, Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane told 702 radio, BBC reported.

About 80% of South Africa’s 54 million citizens are black, but most land and companies remain in the hands of white people, who make up less than 10% of the population. This news story is related to Print/140509-ANC-shaken-by-South-Africa-election-losses/ – breaking news, latest news, pakistan ne.