ANC Does Not Believe Zuma’s Arrest Affected Votes in KZN, Ace Magashule Is MIA

• The ANC's votes have declined dramatically in the local government election with the party failing to reach a majority in many municipalities
• Political analysts suggest that the absence of Ace Magashule and the arrest of Jacob Zuma are to blame
• The ANC rejects these suggestions, arguing that they faced difficult challenges in the build-up to this election

DURBAN - The ANC incurred major losses in KwaZulu-Natal following Monday's local government election. This has been attributed to a low voter turnout but the reasons why voters stayed away from the polls need to be investigated.

Political analysts have suggested that the arrest of former president Jacob Zuma earlier this year, paired with the sudden disappearance of Ace Magashule, the ANC's secretary-general, from public life, has influenced voters to lose faith in the party.

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According to News24, the ANC does not agree with the political analysts. The ANC said that the violence and looting that occurred earlier this year negatively affected residents of the province and that might be why they did not vote for the party.

ANC responds to losing support

Jessie Duarte, the ANC's deputy secretary-general, acknowledged that the ANC displayed a marked decrease in votes. However, she believes that the party faced many challenges in this election; including low voter turnout, unpleasant weather, Covid-19 and loadshedding.

IOL reports that when Ace Magashule was asked why he thinks the ANC's popularity in KwaZulu-Natal declined, he said that disunity and factionalism in the party confused voters and made them feel that there is no true leadership in the ANC.

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“Of course, voters rejected the ANC because the party is deeply divided and heavily infiltrated by factional battles, which harmed us all. We need to fix our ways and rebuild the party. We can’t expect people to be happy when there is so much happening,” Magashule said.

South Africa shares their opinions

South Africans have tweeted whether they agree with the political analysts or the ANC regarding the party's decline in votes in KwaZulu-Natal.

@MsweliTeddy said:

"Am one of many who didn’t vote because of Zuma's arrest so they are wrong."

@s_eyethu shared:

"It doesn't matter what they believe now. The fact is their support is declining very fast. Zuma saga could be another reason so they must be careful, the national election is coming."

@Ahmed22191214 believes:

"Inability to control the subsequent rioting and looting with no consequences for instigators was definitely a factor. @MYANC"

@motlatsimalise said:

"They are naive and living in Dreamland."

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ANC feels the pinch, loses Ethekwini Municipality majority

Yesterday Briefly News reported on the ANC losing the majority in the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality.

The ruling party was unable to maintain its majority in the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality and will now have to form a coalition government in order to continue governing.

The ANC managed to get 42.02% of the votes and was only able to retain 96 council seats out of the 128 seats obtained in 2016. The Democratic Alliance has also seen a decline from 58 council seats to 53 and 25.62% of votes.

Source: Briefly News