While the African National Congress (ANC) is licking its wounds after failing to retain power in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) in the 2024 elections, songstress Thandiswa Mazwai is celebrating the outcome.
According to Sunday World, the Nizwala Ngobani hitmaker was speaking to fans who had come out to Sankofa album show at the Durban Playhouse on Friday, 31 May.
THANDISWA MAZWAI APPLUADS KWAZULU-NATAL FOR VOTING THE ANC OUT
During her event, Thandiswa applauded her KZN supporters for voting the ANC out of power.
“Angithi besithe siyawakhipha amasela nenze njalo,” Mazwai said to her fans.
The message, loosely translated in English, means: “We had said we are removing the thieves and that is what you did.”
However, she was not impressed with the residents of Gauteng as the ANC received 36% of the votes, still putting them in first place. “Manje sebenzani eGauteng? [now, what are the people of Gauteng doing?).”
ELECTION RESULTS IN KWAZULU-NATAL
The elections results in KwaZulu-Natal have favoured the new uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party, which is led by former ANC and South African president Jacob Zuma.
More than 1.58 million voters (45.35%) threw their weight behind Zuma’s party on their provincial ballots, while the IFP received 18.01% of the votes. The ANC took the third spot with 16.99%, followed by the Democratic Alliance with 13,36%.
THE ANC REACTS
According to the ANC’s deputy secretary-general, Nomvula Mokonyane, the results in the province were beyond what they had expected.
“We said it when we campaigned that it is unfortunate that we are contesting against an organiser and an activist of the ANC, a [former] president of the ANC [Jacob Zuma]. And what has come out is exactly what was our concern and as to what has happened in KZN. Of course, it has surprised the ANC and it is beyond what we expected,” SowetanLIVE quoted her as saying.
She continued: “Where do these votes come from? What may be the issues and how do we best give a better explanation of that? We can’t pre-empt on what the collective of the ANC may come and conclude as the reasons behind all of this.”
Addressing the media at the National Results Operations Centre in Midrand on Sunday, 2 June, ANC secretary-general, Fikile Mbalula, begrudgingly conceding defeat. However, he said the ANC never underestimated Zuma.
“We knew he [Zuma] would get support in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and Mpumalanga. We [just] did not know he would get this much support. The [MK] party was unstoppable.
“That is why we put up a fight in relation to him and his party while also mobilising our people. The ANC spent a lot of money and time in these provinces because we knew ourselves that we were being challenged,” Mbalula said.