By Akani Nkuna
ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa has predicted a resounding victory for his party in the Eastern Cape in the 4 November local government elections, dismissing concerns over internal divisions and the selection of mayoral candidates.
Speaking to journalists during a door-to-door election campaign in KuGompo City on Friday, Ramaphosa said he was encouraged by the hundreds of supporters who had turned out to welcome him and other ANC leaders.
The Eastern Cape was “the home of the ANC”, he said, and remained a key electoral stronghold that would again contribute significantly to the party’s national performance.
“This is an ANC province, the victory is going to be huge. The Eastern Cape always gives us high returns and it lifts our numbers nationally together with other provinces. We are very, very confident of victory here in the EC. The problems that we had with the registrations for elections are now behind us and we are charging forward with our campaign,” he said.
In the 2024 provincial elections, the Eastern Cape delivered the ANC’s second-highest percentage of votes nationally, with the party securing 62.16%, behind Limpopo, where it received 73.30%.
The Eastern Cape has 39 municipalities, comprising two metropolitan municipalities, six district municipalities and 31 local municipalities. The ANC retained an outright majority in Buffalo City in the 2021 local government elections, securing 59.30% of the vote. In Nelson Mandela Bay, it won 48 of the 120 council seats, matching the DA, before forming a coalition with eight smaller parties to take control of the municipality.
On Friday, Ramaphosa also rejected suggestions that the ANC leadership was divided by factional battles over the selection of mayoral candidates.
The party has yet to announce its mayoral candidates for the elections, having instead nominated at least three prospective candidates in municipalities across the country.
Ramaphosa defended this, saying it was consistent with the ANC’s tradition of announcing its mayoral candidates after elections.
He said the party had also introduced changes to its candidate-selection process to give communities a greater say in choosing their representatives.
“What we have done as we advance and modernise our systems is to get our candidates to be chosen and elected by the communities and not imposed by the ANC. And we have taken time to interview possible candidates for mayors who will then be announced after the elections. Our people are fully behind the nominated candidates for mayors. The are no divisions,” Ramaphosa said.
