Youth League concerned over decline of support for ANC

The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) on Thursday expressed concern over the decline in support for the ruling African National Congress (ANC).

In the August 3 local government elections, nationwide support for the ANC dropped from 61.95 percent in 2011 to 53.91 percent this year, a decline of eight percentage points.

The ANC also lost key metros like the City of Tshwane (Pretoria) and Nelson Mandela Bay Metro, Greater Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni.

These are the most concerning because the ANC is no longer the leading party in the administrative capital of the country, the ANCYL said.

The ANCYL has identified the key factor to this as a result of the low voter turnout on the traditional ANC bases.

The ANCYL notes that the greatest benefactor of the outcomes of the results is the white supremacy liberal agenda that is spearheaded by the Democratic Alliance (DA), said Mlondi Mkhize, ANCYL national spokesperson.

Despite the setback, the ANC obviously won with a clear majority having secured 53.91 percent of the total votes throughout the country and secured control of more than 75.5 percent of the total municipalities, Mkhize said at a press conference in Johannesburg.

In order for the organization to live long, the ANC must transform and change the way it handles issues, Mkhize said.

He stressed the need for the ANC to redesign its leadership electoral system to disallow heavy contests that divide the organization. Endit