ANC expecting decline in support, says Cronin

Deputy Public Works Minister Jeremy Cronin said these local government elections were more important than in previous years “which I think everyone realises”.

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Cape Town - Deputy Public Works Minister Jeremy Cronin said the ANC was expecting to see a “decline in support” in Wednesday’s elections, but this would provide an opportunity for the party to do some soul-searching.

Speaking outside the Pinelands town hall where he cast his vote, Cronin said these local government elections were more important than in previous years, “which I think everyone realises”.

“I think its obvious the ANC is undergoing a series of challenges which I think have to do with 22 years in incumbency which brings its challenges, which the DA has discovered here in Cape Town.”

He said the big battles would be around the metros, “particularly the metros in Gauteng and Nelson Mandela Bay”.

Cronin said the party expects a decline in support, but he was confident the ANC “would do a bit better than the polls are suggesting”.

He said the party would need to reflect on reasons for the decline in voter support and a “great deal of soul-searching would need to happen within the party”.

African News Agency