Statement

As the announcement of the election date nears and following the voter registration weekend, election fever is rising in our country. Voting, 30 years after we fought and won our democracy is exciting as is the acknowledgement that the human rights we fought for are intact and that we have a vibrant democracy.

However, the Veteran’s League is concerned about the tactics of some political leaders and parties. We have altercations between political parties, a rise in fake media and the false interpretation of certain positions, including that of the Veteran’s League.

We want to make it clear that the Veteran’s League is campaigning vigorously for a decisive victory by the ANC. We are an integral part of the ANC election’s campaign machinery and have our feet on the ground. We will also be campaigning with integrity, going door to door to interact with our people. We call on all political parties to campaign with respect and trust in the IEC machinery so that the elections will be free and fair.

We are calling on the electorate to renew the mandate of the ANC because we:

• Are the party most able to preserve the democratic and socio-economic gains we have made;
• Have improved the lives of our people including through service delivery, provision of social grants, introducing the national minimum wage and free higher education for the poor and working class;.
• Have the experience and expertise to continue to govern; and
• Are renewing our organisation to be an effective and responsive party.

We believe that the calibre of our candidates can be the make or break of decisively winning the 2024 elections. Thus, we are working within the ANC election structures and the Secretary General’s Office to ensure that:

• Nobody who has brought the ANC into disrepute should be on the lists going to national or provincial legislatures before they have embarked on relevant processes to clear their name; and
• Our list of candidates should consist of credible leaders who will restore the confidence of the public in the ANC.

In respect of coalitions, the Veteran’s League believes that there are two different situations. Firstly, there is the possibility of a coalition government after the national and provincial elections, either at the

provincial or national level. Our position on this is, as the President of the ANC announced in the January 8th statement, that we are gunning for an outright majority, not any coalitions!The ANC Veteran’s League does not believe that we should be planning for a coalition government and considering coalition partners before the election. At this point, we are putting our energies into

achieving this outright majority, talking about our record and renewal and mobilising our people on the ground.

There are also current coalitions in local government where unfortunately our experience, especially in metros has not been good. It has not led to an improvement in service delivery and rather contributed to dysfunction in municipal governments.

As a result, the ANC NEC has developed a framework to guide coalition participation. This framework requires coalition partners to commit to shared values of stability, accountability, ethics, integrity, community participation, good governance, the rule of law, non-racialism and non-sexism. The ANC NEC has committed to monitoring the performance of coalitions and reviewing the ANC participation regularly. The Veteran’s League supports this.

We also welcome the proposed amendments by the Minister of COGTA to introduce measures to regulate coalitions to prevent small parties from being disruptive and to create more stability in councils.

Ends//

Contact President of the ANC VL,
Snuki Zikalala
for more details: 082 561 390