An analysis of the declining support for the ANC during the 2011 South African local government elections
Abstract
Local government elections are notorious for low voter turnout, but the May 2011
elections in South Africa showed a record 58 percent of the 24 million registered voters.
In South Africa, local government matters and not just because it provides a pointer to
what might happen in the provincial and national elections due in 2014, but helps in
determining the readiness of the African Nation Congress in providing basic services to
the different communities. Interestingly, these elections were preceded by service delivery
protests against the ANC. The article is an analysis of the decreased support for the
ANC during the 2011 local government elections. The multifaceted reasons behind the
boiling cauldron of this decline in support for the ANC are scrutinised. Underpinning
this decline in support often lie deep and complex factors which can be uncovered
through a careful analysis of the ANC’s campaigning strategies ahead of these elections;
the media which has been accused of rampant sensationalism; service delivery protests
and mudslinging from other political parties. However, it is not the author’s intention in
this article to deal with how other parties fared during these elections, but to highlight
their impact on the declined support received by the ANC in the elections. The
discussion is presented in four parts: the first presents an exploratory discussion on the
theory of local government in the sphere of governance. The second part discusses some
key strategies and tactics used by the ANC in attempts to galvanise support, as well as
the challenges encountered. The third deals with the opposition parties’ machinery in
preventing the ANC from getting a majority vote during the election. Lastly, the article
concludes by highlighting the lessons learnt by the ANC during these elections within
the framework of electoral politics in South Africa.