ANC membership plummets by nearly 40%

3 years ago 1

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Membership of South Africa’s governing party has dropped by at least a third in the past two years, a decline that mirrors the African National Congress’s waning support.

The party has about 1 million members, ANC spokesman Pule Mabe said in an interview Saturday at the party’s elective conference in Johannesburg.

The estimate, down from 1.6 million in July 2020, is based on raw data that has to be refined and may end up being lower, he said.

“The sharp fall in membership numbers shows the general apathy toward the party and organizational disarray,” said Melanie Verwoerd, an independent political analyst and former ANC lawmaker.

“The use of an electronic membership system by the ANC since its last national conference in 2017 also lends credence to suspicions then that membership numbers had been inflated.”

ANC conference registration delays

The ANC was still registering delegates to its five-yearly elective conference, a day after the start of proceedings. It hasn’t explained the reason for the delay.

Proceedings on Saturday got under way several hours later than planned, delaying key events including the nomination from the floor of candidates to contest party leadership roles.

Deputy President David Mabuza presented reports on the state of the party during a closed session that took place a day later than scheduled.

A report is also due to be presented on the ANC’s finances, and additional nominations for leadership posts will be sought from the conference floor.

Voting for the party’s top leaders is also scheduled to take place, though the results are unlikely to be announced on Saturday night as expected.