ANC sailing towards big win
2004-04-15 18:41
Johannesburg - The ANC headed on Thursday for its biggest electoral landslide in a decade of democracy, saying it had consolidated more ground among both the poor and middle class as well as people of all races.
In a low-key statement, the African National Congress said Wednesday's polls had been a "decisive mandate to fight poverty and create work" as preliminary results showed that it had won close to a resounding 69% of the vote.
"In areas where counting within mainly working-class and poor areas has taken place, the ANC is achieving overwhelming majorities of the same level or higher than in 1994 and 1999," it said.
"This is an expression of confidence in the achievements of the ANC in the past ten years, as well as an assertion of hope and conviction that the programme of the ANC will further improve their lives."
The statement said "current trends indicate that the ANC is winning significant sectors of the middle strata including within white, coloured (mixed race) and Indian communities, reflecting increasing unity of purpose among South Africans."
The opposition has expressed fears that the ANC juggernaut - a fait accompli in a country where 78% of the population is black and where people largely vote along ethnic lines - could turn South Africa into a single-party state.
On Thursday, Frederick de Klerk expressed disappointment that the heir to his party had been drubbed at the polls.
De Klerk said the New National Party, the reincarnation of a party which formed the backbone of the apartheid regime, said the ANC's crushing win showed that voters were "still influenced by race and ethnicity," and deplored the "logjam."
"A country in transition is best served by partnership and negotiations," he said.
Watch the provisional results of the national and provincial elections as they come in on News24.com