The IFP-DA coalition in KwaZulu-Natal says the ground is now fertile for the ANC to be removed from leading the province.
The two parties say it is no longer a foregone conclusion that the ANC will retain the province in 2024, when the country goes to the polls.
NEWS: The IFP-DA coalition in KwaZulu-Natal says the ground is now fertile for the ANC to be removed from power. The two parties say it is no longer a foregone conclusion that the ANC will retain the province in 2024, projecting that the governing party will get 44 percent
— Sihle Mavuso (@ZANewsFlash) August 10, 2023
The two parties made these comments on Thursday in Richards Bay, where they held a joint press conference following the election of Christo Botha as the new deputy mayor in the City of Umhlathuze (Richards Bay-Empangeni).
Botha is from the DA, and he will deputise Xolani Ngwezi from the IFP. The position has been vacant since February, following the wobbly exit of the EFF from its coalition with the IFP.
Botha was elected unopposed, even though ANC councillors raised objections regarding his election. That was after they nominated a Councillor from the IFP and threw her hat into the ring.
However, they were told that the nomination was irregular and could not withstand legal scrutiny, and Botha marched to the office of the deputy mayor unopposed.
UPDATE: Chris Botha has been elected as the new deputy Mayor of the City of Umhlathuze. However, the ANC is protesting. @IOL pic.twitter.com/ucM5PNyxsy
— Sihle Mavuso (@ZANewsFlash) August 10, 2023
During the joint press conference, which was attended by leaders of the IFP and DA at the provincial level, the leader of the latter, Francois Rodgers, said all is on track to dislodge the ANC, which has been leading the province since 2004 when it overthrew the IFP.
He said people on the ground now know that they have alternatives and that they look to vote for any other party instead of the ANC.
UPDATE: The joint press conference of the DA and the IFP has called on KZN Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube, and her provincial cabinet to "cease any form of discrimination against municipalities that are not under ANC leadership." @IOL pic.twitter.com/u5CswHDnCU
— Sihle Mavuso (@ZANewsFlash) August 10, 2023
"There is a spark in voter’s eyes; it’s not like in the past where it was a foregone conclusion when we knew who was going to win the race. That’s excites voters; the voters know they can get out to register, get out to vote, and can have a new government," he said.
Although Rodgers was reluctant to divulge the full projections of their internal polling ahead of next year’s elections, he said the ANC is placed at 44 percent.
"What I can tell is that the ANC are trending at about 44 percent on our polls," he said about their internal polls.
Echoing Rodgers, Thami Ntuli, the chairperson of the IFP in KwaZulu-Natal, said all the signs are there that the ANC is losing grip on the province.
He said the by-elections setback should ring alarm bells for the governing party as it heads to the elections in 2024 limping.
"In most of the by-elections, people are voting either DA or the IFP, what is the message there? The polls or whatever study that has been made by the ANC, I am not sure whether you can compare them to what is happening or what is in the public domain where the IFP is winning by-elections even in the ward where the ANC has been historically strong," Ntuli said.
The IFP denied that it was being used by the DA to get hold of its province because it cannot do it on its own.
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