Facing its toughest-ever elections since the dawn of democracy in 1994, the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal has kicked off its campaign to awaken its voter base ahead of the 2024 provincial and national elections.
On Saturday the governing party kicked off its two-day vote registration drive in Umlazi, one of its strongholds, south of Durban.
The voter registration campaign comes amid the sudden resurgence of the IFP (Inkatha Freedom Party) in the province.
The opposition has formed an alliance with the DA, another opposition party, to oust the ANC in the province.
In a joint IFP-DA press conference in Richards Bay on Thursday, the DA said its internal poll shows that the ANC will garner around 44 percent of the provincial vote.
It added that even if the EFF comes to the aid of the ANC, the poll shows that two parties will not muster the required 50+1 required to govern the province in 2024, hence it is confident that it will be ousted.
Despite all that, the ANC in the province insists that it would retain power without requiring a coalition partner.
The Umlazi campaign was led by the provincial ANC chairperson, Siboniso Duma. It will conclude on Sunday.
In a statement issued on the first day, the party said: “The online voter registration campaign in Umlazi campaign was inspiring.
“The young have not only shown willingness to get ready for the elections but they also pledged to vote for the ANC as they believe that it is the only party with the capacity to fulfil the dreams of the pathfinders of this freedom.”
UPDATE: The IEC has officially confirmed the voter registration process at Mpembeni (ward 13, City of Umhlathuze, KwaZulu-Natal) over the weekend. The ward will soon be having by-elections that will pit the ANC against the IFP. @IOL pic.twitter.com/ps933OrhxD
— Sihle Mavuso (@ZANewsFlash) August 11, 2023
Furthermore, the party said will also visit deep rural parts of the province, townships and the leafy suburbs to encourage people to get registered to vote next year.
IOL Politics