Ramaphosa ‘offers to resign’ after ANC electoral disaster

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ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa. Picture: X/@MYANC

ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula may have preached reflection and collective responsibility, but sources say even party president Cyril Ramaphosa was willing to resign over their electoral collapse.

The party was left licking their wounds after its national share of the votes dropped from 45.59% in 2021 to around 30.81% this year.

In KZN, Jacob Zuma’s MK party received around 34%, while the ANC received only 20.3%. The party got 41.4% in 2021.

While the party’s highest decision-making body between conferences, its National Executive Committee, meets to dissect what happened at the polls, Sunday Times reported that Ramaphosa was willing to fall on his sword after the results and raised the idea of him resigning as party president.

“What I’m hearing is that the president felt that under him and the officials, the party had lost two elections and there needed to be consequences,” the publication said, quoting a source.

Another source claimed that Ramaphosa also suggested that if the party’s top seven leadership did not follow him, he would resign alone.

An insider claimed Ramaphosa’s resignation would also spell an end to the government of national unity (GNU).

“He can’t resign as ANC president and still lead the GNU. It means the GNU collapses. Because, anyway, who supports this arrangement at this moment? How is it assisting us?”

Ramaphosa was reportedly told to calm down, the party to reflect on the performance properly before making decisions, and to consider calling an early ANC elective conference.

It was clear that the ANC NEC knew that the elections might go so badly.

Speaking on Saturday, Mbalula admitted that because of this internal polling report, the party “knew this disaster was coming” and that the middle class had “turned against the ANC”.

He called the election results a “catastrophic disaster”.

“We are staring at it. The official polls of the ANC told us that we would be at 34%. We knew what we were up against. We put up a fight to push back.”

He said they were upbeat because they expected to be “totally wiped out.”

“We knew we were up against a mountain. We were shocked because it gave us a result. It shows the ANC steadily coming back”

Ramaphosa’s future was also a topic of discussion by Julius Malema on Saturday, with the EFF leader suggesting that the ANC let Ramaphosa go if coalition demands call for it.

“If the MK party puts the demand that Ramaphosa must go, the ANC must agree that Ramaphosa must go because we are in this mess because of him. You are losing your organisation because you are protecting an individual. He is gone.”

He said coalition discussions are an opportune moment for the MK party, EFF, SACP, and ANC to come together and “reject enemy forces”.

Mbalula said voters had spoken, and the ANC had heard not only “an embrace” but a judgement.

“We recognise their concerns. We will not question their judgement or explain away their decisions. We will confront the reasons why people who once saw the ANC as their political home have become disillusioned with our movement.

He admitted that local governments have failed voters and said residents “have every right to demand better”.

“We cannot ask people to trust us just merely because of our history. It gives us a responsibility to serve, not an entitlement to govern. The ANC must earn the confidence of the people through what it does today and what it delivers tomorrow.

“We will accept this lesson with humility.”

Mbalula said it was important for South Africans to understand that the ANC still “leads the government of national unity (GNU), holds the presidency, and the great instruments of the national state.”

“That government serves every municipality in this country, all 257. Not according to how a community voted, but according to the constitution, which binds the national government to support local government everywhere and to secure basic services for every household.”

He said the ANC will use its national power to intervene where municipalities fail and “improve the lives of people”.

Mbalula said no formal talks on a coalition had begun, and ANC leadership would meet soon to map out its action plan for negotiations. He said the party would put service delivery at the centre of discussions.

“The ANC will not be in a hurry to get into coalitions. That is not the only option. There is also an option to sit in opposition.

“We will look at every municipality and see what options are before us, and that will be settled by the National Executive Committee.”

He said the party is “not in the business of begging for a mayorship or any other position.”

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