After the fact: Political leaders on the election

GEORGE NEWS - The national elections of 2024 have been much anticipated and now, after the fact, we are still waiting to hear what has been decided for the way forward. George Herald asked a few leaders of different political parties to give us their thoughts. This is what they had to say:

Provincial chairperson of the DA Jaco Londt said this election has shifted the political landscape and that we are entering an uncertain and exciting period for the country.

"The negotiations on the best route to take for the country are ongoing as we speak and how that will play out will become clearer over the next fortnight. One enormous comfort is that we have, as part of the negotiating team, the WC Premier who not only has experience in running effective governments, but also has our province's best interest at heart.

"We owe an immense gratitude to every voter who took up their responsibility to register and then queue up for hours to cast their vote.

"It cannot be overstated how important it was to maintain an outright majority and continue delivering on the DA manifesto that has proven to work for the Western Cape. We thank you for the opportunity to serve our province again and will honour that trust placed in us."

ANC provincial spokesperson Khalid Sayed said the ANC in the Western Cape acknowledges the recent election results and notes the significance of the voter turnout, which sends a clear message to all political parties.

"We recognise the need to improve the manner in which we conduct ourselves and serve the public, with a stern focus on addressing the daily bread-and-butter issues facing our citizens. The ANC will thoroughly analyse the results to identify where we fell short and strive to do better.

"Nonetheless, we are committed to being a robust opposition in the Western Cape, ensuring that the DA is held accountable and that services are delivered effectively and equitably."

ANC provincial spokesperson Khalid Sayed

PA chairperson of the Election Readiness Committee in George, Bazil Petrus, said the Patriotic Alliance thanks all the voters who contributed to the massive achievement this party has made in the 2024 national and provincial elections.

"The thousands of voters who have voted for us and our president, Gayton McKenzie, ensured that the PA received the largest increase in voter support since its inception.

This election gave us a solid foundation to build on. This is our moment!

"The PA now has MPs in the National Assembly and MPLs in the provincial legislatures of the Western Cape, Gauteng, Eastern Cape and the Northern Cape. We are indeed honoured to serve our people in that capacity."

PA chairperson of the Election Readiness Committee in George Bazil Petrus (far right) with a team of PA supporters: Druzelda Koeries, Sumaria Keffers, Dean Robertson, Zeliah Jansen, Chantall Witbooi, Susan Arendse and Janine Visser.

FF Plus deputy leader in the Western Cape Gert van Niekerk said the FF Plus is satisfied that they have maintained the status quo at provincial level since 2019 and would like to thank their loyal voters for their support. "Obviously, any party would always like to do better and the results at national level were not satisfactory.

Given the circumstances and compared with other established parties that showed much greater losses or showed little growth, we accept the results. The large abstention vote is regrettable and it is a shame that voters are not acting more responsibly."

FF Plus deputy leader in the Western Cape Gert van Niekerk. Photo: Eugene Gunning

ACDP chairperson of Garden Route East Johan du Toit expressed their gratitude to the public who voted for divine governance. "We did not get the numbers we were hoping for but we rest with the majority decision. We wish to congratulate the other parties on their results."

Du Toit said there are allegations of vote rigging nationwide which are being investigated by the ACDP because "we only want a free and fair election".

ACDP chairperson of Garden Route East Johan du Toit

Leader of the Good party Brett Herron extended their gratitude to all who supported them. "Without the backing of billionaire 'influencers', or the proceeds of corruption, we weathered a storm of identity politics. We believe that the shift from two-party dominance to coalition government is a positive one.

"There are good people across most parties. The more good people who apply their minds to fixing South Africa, the better it will be. It is no small feat that we were able to hold a peaceful and credible election in which the ruling party lost sole control of the levers of power.

"Although we also lodged some objections and found some IEC officials unprofessional and ill-equipped for the task of election day, we are confident that the results are credible and generally reflect the choice of the voters.

"The decline in voter turnout is worrying. No one can say with certainty why this happened, but many of us who campaigned on the ground - engaging with voters and citizens - would have heard the prevalence of painful disillusionment they expressed."

Leader of the Good party Brett Herron (left), City of Tshwane Good councillor Sarah Mabotsa and Good national chairperson Matthew Cook