SACP STATEMENT ON THE 2011 LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS RESULTS
The SACP would like to take this opportunity to thank the millions of South African Citizens who came out on the 18th May 2011 to cast their votes in the third democratic local government elections. A special word of thank to the millions who once more reaffirmed the ANC led alliance in the recent polls.
The SACP congratulates volunteers of the Alliance that worked tirelessly crisscrossing the country and taking the ANC message in rural villages, townships, cities and workplaces.
The results confirmed that the majority of our people still have an overwhelming confidence in the leadership of the ANC. The ANC in turn has expressed the confidence it has in our communities by allowing for the first time its candidates to be subjected to test by their communities. This contributed to strengthening the dynamic link between the movement and its core constituency.
The person to person contact we undertook during the elections was enriching and has further underscored the urgent necessity to transform the semi-colonial structure of our economy including apartheid type spatial development. There needs to be an urgent integrated delivery of houses, schools, road and bulk infrastructure, safe and affordable public transport and building communities that are crime free. These are the challenges facing the majority of South Africans.
We at the SACP have always understood dealing with these challenges as part of an ongoing process to reverse the decay imposed upon us by centuries of colonialism.
The SACP is elated by the consolidation of power in municipalities where the ANC has been in control. Whilst our people have once more overwhelmingly voted the ANC, they did not do so without bringing to our attention the need to speed up service delivery, to fight corruption and to create decent jobs and sustainable livelihoods.
Our people have raised with us the urgent and ongoing task of rooting out corruption which is threatening to undermine the many gains achieved through the ANC-led government. These are concerns that will however never be fully addressed under capitalism, much as lots can still be done. Capitalism breeds greed, corruption, poverty and underdevelopment.
Strangely, but not surprisingly, the DA and most of media, are projecting the election results as if the ANC has lost the elections, and the DA has won them. Only in South Africa can a party that has won 23% is projected as having won, and the one with 63% described as having lost!
We are not surprised by this, as the media during this election campaign, devoted acres of space and airtime demonizing the ANC and fully campaigning for the DA. All this is aimed at demoralizing our ranks and a continuation of the liberal offensive against the majoritarian character of our democracy.
The truth behind the increase in the DA vote is that it has consolidated it's support among minority communities, as shown by the majority of the coloured vote in the Western Cape, and the Indian vote in Durban. That is why the minority parties have either been swallowed or decimated by the DA, as is the case with the ID.
This is not a positive development as this has the potential to create a sense of fear and siege in minority communities, thus undermining our goal of building a non racial and inclusive society. The DA which is a party of white elitism does not represent the interests of the majority of our people, the workers and the poor, including amongst Indians and Coloureds.
The challenge for the ANC and the alliance is to develop a thoroughgoing programme to be able to mobilise and advance its progressive and non racial agenda amongst the Coloured, Indian and White middle and working classes.
If our revolution and our nation building efforts are to succeed this has to be attended to with a sense of urgency. Only the ANC-led Alliance can lead a genuinely non-racial project. This is the major lesson for our movement from these elections.
Indeed some of our ANC internal squabbles have led to some of our voters staying away from the ballot. We need to urgently work towards addressing these as the President has committed. What these elections, just like many others, have taught us is that the unity of our structures is paramount. Furthermore the elections have taught us that there is a need for continued dynamic interaction with our communities by our structures and our councillors.
This is why the SACP commits to use this victory to ensure that we deepen participatory democracy at a local government level. We must strengthen IDP's development process and LED forums across the country. Ward committees must start to be more assertive organs of people's power in action!
The SACP commits to work with our alliance partners to realise these important tasks. Our communities must constantly be rallied behind the implementation of the ANC led alliance manifesto.
Statement issued by SACP, May 22 2011
Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter
