If intimidation true, condemn it - ANC
2011-05-19 19:39
Pretoria - If the alleged intimidation by ANC residents of DA supporters in Midvaal were true, it should be condemned in the strongest terms, ANC chairwoman Baleka Mbete said at the IEC results centre in Pretoria on Thursday.
"[That behaviour] is not ANC culture. It’s the last thing we need," Mbete said.
"We condemn it in the strongest terms."
African National Congress residents apparently tried to burn down the homes of Democratic Alliance supporters in Midvaal on Thursday.
Midvaal mayor Timothy Nasty also claimed that a group of ANC supporters unhappy with the DA's victory in Midvaal had intimidated community members on Thursday morning.
"A group of disgruntled ANC members who were unhappy with the outcome of the elections went around making noise and intimidating community members in the Sicelo area this morning," he said.
He said the protesters had "gone around intimidating people and asking people who they had voted for".
"My concern is that the ANC has a membership base that don't accept the results of a democratic election," he said.
The DA won 60.71% of the vote in the tightly-fought Midvaal area, and the ANC 37.17%
DA leader Helen Zille, said earlier that the win showed "an increased maturity" in voting.
The election had helped the DA "break through race being the primary issue", she said.
Disappointed
Asked about the ANC’s intense campaigning in Midvaal only to lose, Mbete said the party tried its best.
"The DA have taken it and we congratulated them," she said.
"We have to go back," she said, echoing the words of ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe earlier on Thursday.
He said the ANC was "very disappointed" at losing Midvaal to the DA.
"The ANC must work harder, we are not doing well in the minority areas," Mantashe said.
"We are sorry we didn't take it.... We really wanted it."
He said the ANC needed also to "invest more time" in areas such as Eldorado Park, southern Johannesburg, which had "shifted" its vote.
On the overall results so far, Mbete said the ANC was happy and that it had even gained votes in areas where there had been a number of service delivery protests.
The victory in Nelson Mandela Bay had left the party overjoyed.
- SAPA
