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ANC in free fall
On day four of the ANC's 55th conference, the party's new leadership team was announced.
Cyril Ramaphosa got his second term. Paul Mashatile will serve as his deputy, while Fikile Mbalula is the new secretary-general. He will be supported by Nomvula Mokonyane. Other ANC members who made it into the party's top seven structure include Gwede Mantashe, Maropene Ramokgopa and Gwen Ramokgopa.
The change in leadership in the party comes at a time when the country is facing a myriad of challenges such as a struggling economy, load shedding, declining service delivery levels, inequality and unemployment.
Many are hoping a new mandate from the new leadership will result in a push towards addressing these crises.
Analysts, though, warn we are likely to see more of the same with little improvement in governance.
Elections analyst Dawie Scholtz has analysed what 89 ward elections that took place in 2022 can reveal about the country's electoral trajectory for Friday Briefing this week.
And while the ANC is celebrating its new top seven, it is unlikely to be chuffed with what the data has revealed.
Weak economic and governance are not playing in the party's favour, and it's leading to a loss of support.
The DA may also want to take a closer look at the data to see where it can improve.
As News24's assistant editor Pieter du Toit wrote earlier this week, the 2024 election is shaping up as the single biggest inflection point for this country since 1994.
Hope you have a wonderful long weekend.
Best wishes for the festive season,
Vanessa Banton
Opinions editor
2022 by-elections: ANC support in free fall
Elections analyst Dawie Scholtz reflects on the 89 ward elections that took place in 2022 to see what they reveal about the country's electoral trajectory. He writes ANC support appears to be in free fall and it is an open question as to whether the newly elected leadership will be able to do anything in time to turn the trend.
