Gauteng, W Cape worry ANC

THE loss of votes in Gauteng has been one of the biggest concerns for the ANC.

The province’s premier, Nomvula Mokonyane, who is head of the ANC’s election organising unit, conceded that the party’s drop from 64.04% in 2009 to 53.59% this week was “worrying”.

The improved DA performance in the province to 30.78% is likely to inspire the party for the local elections in 2016, when the city of Johannesburg could become a key battleground.

The ANC’s other shaky performance was in the Western Cape, where bravado about recapturing a province that it held between 2004 and 2009 failed to materialise in votes.

This was despite the highprofile defection from the DA to the ANC of Grant Pascoe, a formidable organiser who was said to be able to deliver Mitchells Plain, one of the biggest voting blocs in the province.

Mokonyane was clear that the ANC would need to focus on these two provinces in future voting campaigns.

The DA consolidated its control of the Western Cape. It won 59.38%, an improvement from 51.46% in 2009.

The ANC was second with 32.89%, having won 31.55% in the previous election.

The party will visit all the provinces to assess where it can improve.

“We could have done better [in Gauteng] . . . it’s not a comfortable majority.

“It’s a strategic province, [which is] key for the country . . . you can’t claim to be in charge of the country without having Gauteng.

“In the same vein, we are concerned about the Western Cape, so we should also do a serious reflection on Gauteng,” said Mokonyane.

She said the ANC had not expected the outcome in the Western Cape, where the ANC expected 47%.

“We must go back to those very people we galvanised in the Western Cape and let’s hear what went wrong.”