ANC celebrates landslide poll victory

Mawande Jack POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT

VICTORIOUS ANC members held celebration rallies and set up motorcades yesterday after the party‘s landslide victory in eight by-elections in Nelson Mandela Bay were announced.

Political analyst Somadoda Fikeni said the ANC had won after being “energised” by the encroachment of breakaway party Congress of the People (Cope) into its traditional bases.

“It deployed its greatest political guns, brought Nelson Mandela to its rally, launched its manifesto and launched an aggressive campaign strategy in the Eastern Cape,” Fikeni said.

Holding a press conference at the ANC regional headquarters, Standard House, ANC provincial leader Mcebisi Jonas said: “We see the victory as an indication of the protest by the communities against the defectors.”

Jonas, SACP provincial secretary Xolile Nqatha, Sanco provincial secretary Mandla Dingiswayo, ANC Youth League leader Ayanda Matiti and Women‘s League national executive member Beauty Dlulane made a call to all ANC alliance members to ensure that all those advancing a campaign of destabilisation from within the party “must get out of the ANC now”.

While several political parties contested the by- elections, Cope was the only party singled out by the ANC yesterday to be relentlessly fought, defeated and consigned to political oblivion.

“We should never allow a situation where people are being demobilised by a right-wing core within our movement,” Nqatha said.

ANC president Jacob Zuma was full of praise and gratitude to the people of the Nelson Mandela Bay for “showing confidence and loyalty in the ANC leadership”.

“The ANC will never disappoint or let the people of the Mandela metro down. We acknowledge that so much needs to be done to improve the lives of the people and the ANC wants to do more in that regard,” Zuma said.

ANC leaders offered a variety of reasons for Cope‘s defeat. One was “the use of wrong candidates”, people who while they were ANC councillors had already been discredited.

“Some of them were accused of being arrogant, disrespectful and rude towards residents, were not accessible when needed and some were imposed on them and not by popular choice” said Zuma‘s communications manager, Zizi Kodwa.