ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula has dismissed EFF leader Julius Malema’s suggestion that the ANC’s political arrangement with the DA may have contributed to the party’s strong performance in Wednesday’s local government elections.
Malema argued that the ANC’s decision to enter into a political arrangement with the DA may have influenced voter behaviour and contributed to a shift in electoral support.
However, Mbalula rejected Malema’s analysis, describing it as inadequate and lazy.
“To respond to Malema’s analysis, I think it’s very fraught with challenges. I think the analysis he is making is very much inadequate. It is very lazy,” he said.
Mbalula also suggested that Malema was angry, adding that he did not want to engage with his remarks.
He questioned what he described as Malema’s changing political position, recalling the 2016 local government elections, when the ANC received 54% of the vote under then-President Jacob Zuma.
Mbalula said Malema had described the decline in the ANC’s support at the time as the normalisation of democracy, despite the EFF working with the DA to remove the ANC from power in several municipalities.
He questioned why Malema was now calling for the ANC to regroup and reconsider its strategy and tactics.
According to provisional figures, the ANC’s support declined from approximately 46% in the 2021 local government elections to around 30% in the current elections.
The Electoral Commission is expected to announce the official results on Sunday.
