Statement of the African National Congress on the result of the 2019 National and Provincial Elections

11 May 2019

In the same year that the nation celebrates the milestone of 25 years of freedom, South Africans through their actions have again consolidated the gains of freedom.

Again, the people of this country have gone to the polls in their millions, bracing extreme weather conditions and logistical challenges, as they did 25 years ago.

South Africans have once again risen to the occasion and demonstrated that our democracy is deepening, robust and maturing.

With nearly 100% of the votes counted, the ANC received 57.5% of the national vote and has won the majority of votes for legislatures in eight (8) out of nine (9) provinces. South Africans have therefore given their vote of confidence to the ANC to continue to lead transformation and government for the next five (5) years, in order to speed up the process of building a better life for all.

In Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West, Free State, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal the ANC will continue to lead provincial governments. We will use the mandate to address the issues our people have raised. In implementing our Manifesto, we will improve on services, build more responsive government and together with all stakeholders grow the provincial and local economies, support SMMEs and create jobs faster.

We are particularly pleased with the results in Northern Cape, which the opposition claimed they would win. With a win of 57.54%, the ANC in the province looks forward to continuing to unite all citizens of the province.

In Gauteng, the ANC received a majority of 50.14% votes, recording the highest turnout in the country of over 68%. Initial indications are that we have halted the downward spiral of 2016 (46% of the vote) in the province. Gauteng is the economic heartland of South Africa and Africa, with the highest population and the most urbanized. Despite the recovery, we have to go back to basics in the province.

We congratulate the Democratic Alliance on winning the majority in the Western Cape. The ANC will continue to be an effective opposition in the province.

The turnout of nearly two-thirds of registered voters nationally is respectable for a maturing democracy. This is however down in comparison with turnout in 2014 (73.48%), and we must, therefore – as the ANC and other stakeholders – do more to convince larger numbers of especially young people to play their role in our democracy and to register and vote.

On the Road to Recovery and Renewal

As the ANC, we have heard the people. We have heard the voices of all South Africans, those who voted for us, for the opposition and those who did not vote.

The National Executive Committee of the ANC, led by President Comrade Cyril Ramaphosa, appreciates the enormity of the task that lies ahead and thanks to the people of South Africa, with great humility, for this mandate and confidence.

In 2016, the ANC got a wake-up call when, for the first time since the advent of democracy, we received 53% in the local government elections.

We had to urgently respond and arrest the downward slide as it became crystal clear that there was a disconnect with the people.

We commit to a sustained programme of renewal and be decisive to root out lawlessness, greed, corruption and selfishness.

There’s no doubt that these results show that the people appreciate our efforts so far to reconnect with them and to renew. We have no doubt that that a lot still has to be done. We are humbled by the fact that our message was received by our people.

The continued mandate that the ANC received to govern at a national level and in eight (8) provinces represent a critical step towards recovery from the low point of the 2016 local elections. We also note with a great sense of appreciation the recovery of support an upward trend in some crucial areas, including metros and suburbs, wherein 2014 and 2015 we lost significant percentages.

In the immediate aftermath of these elections, the ANC will embark on an extensive process, in all its structures, to analyse the results and our campaign. We shall do so in an open, inclusive, constructive and frank manner, so that we extract the lessons for governance, democracy and transformation, links between the people and the ANC, and for the unity, modernisation and renewal of the movement, as mandated by our 54th National Conference

The outcome of this election is decisive. The mandate is clear.

South Africans want a growing, inclusive economy that creates jobs.

South Africans want programmes that tackle poverty more effectively, that build viable communities close to work, that reduce the cost of living and provide people with homes and land.

South Africans want a government that works for them, that is efficient and free from corruption. They want to see an end to state capture and swift action against those responsible for wrongdoing.

South Africans want public representatives with integrity, who work hard and who do not place their personal interests above those of the people they are elected to serve.

South Africans want to see an end to crime, to live in safe neighbourhoods, and to decisively tackle gender-based violence.

South Africans want a non-sexist society, where the dignity and rights of women and girls are advanced and protected.

South Africans want a truly united and non-racial society in which all our people can belong. This election has not only been about the South Africa that our people want. It has also been

about the kind of ANC our people want.

South Africans want an ANC that serves the people selflessly. They want an ANC that has integrity and that acts against wrongdoing within its ranks.

They want an ANC that is united and, in its unity, remains true to the principles and values upon which it was founded.

The message we take from the results of this election is that the people’s confidence in the ANC is returning and that we need to correct our mistakes and pursue with greater effort as a process of renewal and rebuilding.

We are fully aware that these performance levels mean that many are yet to be fully convinced that we are firmly on a new trajectory.

Their instruction is clear: we trust you – but do more and move more quickly to deal with corruption and state capture, to ensure accountability and to take the country on a higher path of growth and development.

As the ANC, we have heard this message clearly and we are determined to act on it. Today, we salute the people of South Africa for a fair, free and peaceful election.

We thank all those who made this election possible – the IEC commissioners and staff, officials from the SAPS, SANDF, Home Affairs, State Security, missions abroad and other departments, members of observer missions and party agents.

We extend congratulations to all the political parties that participated in the election and thank them for ensuring that the election proceeded peacefully and served to unite, rather than divide, South Africans.

We also congratulate all parties that have won seats in the National Assembly and Provincial Legislatures.

The ANC has received a clear and decisive mandate.

Working together with all South Africans, sparing neither strength nor courage, we will implement that mandate.

Working together with all South Africans, we will grow South Africa.

Rea leboga. Thank you. Siyabonga.

Issued by ANC, 11 May 2019