ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa
The ANC will likely use government resources to begin “actively communicating success stories” through advertising in the next critical campaigning weeks ahead of the May 29 national election. All ministers were summoned.
In a leaked recording of a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held last week, ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa said the party needed to win 14 million votes to win a clear victory. .
“For us to win, we no longer need to get 10 million votes like before. To guarantee a solid victory, we need to get 13 to 14 million votes. Therefore, we should do There are many things to do and if there is any leadership that can do it, it is this leadership,” Ramaphosa said.
“Our efforts will demonstrate to state and local leaders that we all need to pull this wagon and make sure we move forward.”
ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu Motsili did not respond to questions sent by the ANC. email and guardian About recording.
ANC elections director Mdumiseni Ntuli presented a report during the meeting detailing the party's campaign plan to achieve its goal of remaining in power.
In the recording, Mr Ntuli was heard saying that Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga had been exemplary in communicating the ANC's success stories through his ministry.
“These are the success stories of South Africans, so we need something of a similar nature where the government actively tells success stories,” Ntuli said.
“The Vice President, as leader of government business, has given us a plan for how the rest of his cabinet will engage in the debate, both through radio advertising and in public to demonstrate directly the successes led by the ANC. I think we have to show that.'' The government has actually registered the department that they lead. ”
Mr Ntuli said the MEC needed to do the same in the province, “because there will be success stories relevant to the province because of the ANC-led government there.”
He said the government and all departments should submit details of all projects to start to the ANC's electoral team between now and polling day.
“We want to ensure that what we do on the ground and the government interventions that are taking place to complement our campaign efforts are highly, highly, highly integrated and seamlessly integrated. I really hope that will be done,” he said, adding that the ANC needed to know “how.” I was going to take advantage of the situation. ”
Mr Ntuli expressed disappointment that the government had failed to coordinate events with the ANC on Freedom Day, which is commemorated on April 27, saying this was supposed to be an opportunity to integrate the plans of the two sides. .
“We want the president to return to KwaZulu-Natal. If the government integrates seamlessly with what we are doing in the elections, we will be celebrating Freedom Day in Pretoria this coming Saturday. We could have influenced the government not to hold the meeting,” Ntuli said.
“We understand it is too late, but change may not be easy. As an election team, let us do it in KwaZulu-Natal… ANC campaign as President Ramaphosa heads to rest I said integrate it with the elements of. [founding ANC] president [John] Dube. ”
Mr Ntuli said Mr Ramaphosa still needed to travel to the province and visit Mr Dube's burial site before the election.
He said all NEC members would be deployed to KwaZulu-Natal for seven full days to capitalize on the momentum the ruling party had gained in the week leading up to the release of its February election manifesto.
Mr Ntuli said Mr Ramaphosa would be the party's biggest attraction in the metropolitan area, while veterans including former president Thabo Mbeki, former vice president Galema Motlanthe, former vice president David Mabuza and Phumzile Mlambo Nthuka. , said veterans, including former speaker Baleka Mbete, would be deployed to remote locations. .
The ANC had targeted 11 million voters and a 57% turnout in 2019, Ntuli said in the recording, and the party wanted a 70% turnout to reach that goal. He added that he was there.
“Of course, 57% would essentially suggest or mean that we will remain where we were or remain where we are today as a result of the 2019 election. The worst thing we had planned for when we started was to maintain what we have and not exceed it. But don’t go below that,” he said.
“So we set our goal at 11 million votes because we understand that even though the number of voters increases, it doesn't necessarily mean that getting 11 million votes is going to be a much bigger increase. Because I deserved to win.”
Mr Ntuli said that in the final weeks of the election campaign, the ANC would mainly focus on its own base and disaffected supporters who chose not to go to the polls, rather than voting for the opposition. Ta. The party will also focus on attracting first-time voters while improving electoral systems in the Western Cape, Northern Cape and North West provinces.
He also said that for the ANC to win 80% of the vote, it needed to ensure that it increased its electoral margins in the most powerful provinces of the Eastern Cape, Limpopo and Mpumalanga.
Ramaphosa, who originally chaired the meeting, said he was concerned that some within the NEC were not fulfilling their commitments to campaign for a full majority. He said NEC members who failed to achieve their campaign goals would also be affected.
“The message from here is that we all have to fulfill our commitments and we will be debriefed. I also reiterated that we need to get people's reports. It is mandatory,” Ramaphosa said.
“We have everyone’s backs, because if you are an NEC and you have been elected to the NEC, it is in times like these that you demonstrate your commitment to this movement that we have agreed to lead. It is our duty and obligation.
“So, comrades, this is a call to action. It also says that if we don't do our duty, it will be more than just a call from the President or the Vice President or anyone else. It will be consequential, but we don't want that, we want all of us to commit,” Ramaphosa added.