The local government elections have been concluded, and the African National Congress has registered losses in a number of municipalities, in particular the Metropolitan areas, where it was hit hardest. The population has arisen and it is clear to it that the ANC is not the party that can deliver the goods. There is anger and disappointment amongst various communities regarding how the ANC conducted its electoral campaign.

Issues that are being raised by voters and in particular ANC members are:

1.  Why does its Provincial Executive Councils have control over candidate selection?
2.  Is it not the members that should choose who their representatives should be?
3.  Why is the PEC imposing candidates on the electorate?

The run up to the election was not an easy one for most candidates because it was imperative to win the support of the PEC before being endorsed. This led to much in-fighting, violent protests,  rejection of proposed candidates, mudslinging and in some cases the destruction of private property.

There is a very interesting development that came up at the time of the selection of prospective councillors and that was the rejection of proposed councillors by the ANC leadership, an increase in service delivery protests, and a sense of betrayal.

The process included voting by ANC branches for the preferred candidate followed by a panel interview to make the final decision on candidates. The process was not fair and fundamentally flawed, because the branches actually had no say in the selection of the candidate.

ANC candidates who won the elections during the selection process, were sidelined and those who lost were given the position by virtue of being the favourites of the leadership.

This was obviously a wrong move by the ANC leadership because this led to despondency, loss of trust and confidence in the leadership. Physical battles were fought by factions supporting one or the other candidate and clearly those who had sold their souls to the leadership were the ones who had the upper hand. Investigative committees, set up to investgate what was wrong, were a waste of time and resources. Members of different branches marched to the Provincial Office of the ANC to submit grievances to the PEC, but those demands fell on deaf ears. The PEC endorsed candidates that they were comfortable with as opposed to those selected by the branches.

Some of the candidates opted to break away from the ANC, thereby re-enforcing the belief that the ANC is an organisation of organisations. Some opted to stand as independents and this prompted the PEC to act swiftly to discourage them to do so. Factionalism is now the order of the day.

Communities were appeased by the fact that they were told that investigations are on-going and that their grievances will be attended to without providing a deadline. There is however no commitment on the part of the ANC leadership to meet the needs of communities or even to address them via an open dialogue as requested. Candidates endorsed by the PEC,  who got most votes also fell victim to the schemes of the leadership, by being sidelined or not considered for higher positions such as Mayor, Speaker, etc.

The number of service delivery protests increased as the election date drew nearer. Roads were blockaded with burning tyres, and people from areas such as Roodepan could not go to work and school or college, because there is only one access road to the area.