As South Africans wait with bated breath for the final results of Wednesday’s local government elections, voices are emerging from within the ANC demanding an urgent assessment of the party’s leadership, blaming political arrogance, corruption and the failure to listen to communities for its declining electoral support.
By early Friday afternoon, provisional Electoral Commission figures showed the ANC leading nationally with 31.83% of the reported vote, followed by the DA at 24.14%, the MK Party at 9.29%, the EFF at 6.21% and the IFP at 4.92%. The figures, recorded at 1.19pm with 81.5% of voting districts counted, reflected another bruising electoral performance for the ANC.
READ: Elections 2026 | ANC leads 62 councils as DA and MK consolidate provincial footholds
ANC veteran Mogomotsi Mogodiri wants the party to convene a Special National Conference or National Consultative Conference where members can openly interrogate the conduct of their leaders and the organisation’s failure to retain public confidence.
His call has been reinforced by Mbombela ANC member and former Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) chairperson Victor Mashego, who believes political arrogance and factional gatekeeping have become deeply entrenched in the liberation movement.
“In addition, there is a need for an honest conversation within and across ANC ranks. This should include a gloves off assessment of the leadership at an urgent properly constituted Special National Conference or National Consultative Conference,” Mogodiri said.
The criticism comes as the ANC faces challenges from opposition parties in several metropolitan municipalities following Wednesday’s local government elections.
Electoral setbacks trigger internal criticism
Mogodiri said the emerging results should force the ANC to confront uncomfortable questions about its leadership rather than manufacture excuses for its declining electoral fortunes.
He said:
“Whilst there are several factors that have conspired to bring the ANC close to its knees, the organisation is paying a high price for arrogance, incompetence, dishonesty, aloofness and corruption.”
He accused the leadership of repeatedly dismissing warnings from liberation struggle veterans and ordinary party members.
According to Mogodiri, former liberation war veterans submitted proposals for organisational renewal during 2020 and 2021, but their recommendations were ignored.
He argued that the party had also failed to confront the lessons of the 2021 municipal elections and the 2024 general elections.
“They not only manufactured endless excuses and adopted a denialist posture but they also showed the voters the proverbial middle finger,” he said.
READ MORE: Msibi’s SDP threatens to dethrone ANC in Victor Khanye
Political arrogance under scrutiny
Mashego, an ANC member from Mbombela, said political arrogance had created a culture in which leaders regarded themselves as untouchable and treated voters as instruments for obtaining power.
“Political arrogance is a manifestation of the inability to listen, dismissing the views of the people, and an equally overconfidence,” he said.
He invoked former president Jacob Zuma’s declaration that the ANC would govern until Jesus returned as an example of political certainty that could encourage complacency.
Mashego argued that leaders increasingly surrounded themselves with unquestioning loyalists while excluding members who challenged their decisions.
“People on the ground feel neglected, used like condoms, and treated as mere statistics rather than active participants in the democratic activities,” he said.
He also criticised the enormous public expenditure associated with commissions of inquiry while unemployment and poverty continued to affect millions of South Africans.
Mashego warned that political arrogance could eventually destroy a governing party from within, describing it as a slow poison that would ultimately result in the loss of state power.
Candidate nominations questioned
Mogodiri also raised concerns about the ANC’s internal candidate selection processes, alleging that factional interests had repeatedly overridden the wishes of communities.
He claimed that some candidates nominated by residents had been discarded in favour of politically connected individuals.
The veteran further accused party leaders of allowing corruption and maladministration to continue despite repeated electoral warnings.
He cited allegations emerging from the Madlanga Commission as another reason for the ANC to reassess its political culture and accountability mechanisms.
READ MORE: Reginah Mhaule speaks on pain of deputising DA minister
Special conference proposed
Mogodiri said the ANC could no longer afford to respond to electoral setbacks through routine meetings and public assurances that the organisation would renew itself.
He wants members to confront the leadership directly through a properly constituted national gathering capable of examining the causes of declining support.
He said:
“It cannot be business as usual. Genuine ANC members must and should hold their leaders to account.”
His proposal places internal accountability at the centre of the debate over the ANC’s future, although no decision by the party to convene such a gathering has been established.
Mogodiri warned that continued failure to address the concerns of members and voters could have lasting consequences.
“Should they also fail to decisively act on this occasion, there might not be an ANC to speak of in the next elections.”
RELATED: Mawande AmaShabalala | How the GNU is killing the ANC while feeding the DA beast
- Provisional Electoral Commission figures showed the ANC leading nationally with 31.83% of the vote, followed by the DA at 24.14%, the MK Party at 9.29%, the EFF at 6.21%, and the IFP at 4.92%, with 81.5% of voting districts counted.
- ANC veteran Mogomotsi Mogodiri called for a Special National Conference or National Consultative Conference to openly assess the party's leadership and electoral decline.
- Victor Mashego criticized political arrogance in the ANC, citing leaders' complacency and ignoring voters' views, which he warned could lead to the party losing state power.
- Allegations were made that factional interests in the ANC overrided community wishes during candidate nominations, favoring politically connected individuals over nominated residents.
- Mogodiri stressed that failure to hold leaders accountable and address internal issues could result in the ANC losing its relevance or existence in future elections.
As South Africans wait with bated breath for the final results of Wednesday's local government elections, voices are emerging from within the ANC demanding an urgent assessment of the party's leadership, blaming political arrogance, corruption and the failure to to communities for its declining electoral support.
By early Friday afternoon, provisional Electoral Commission figures showed the ANC leading nationally with 31.83% of the reported vote, followed by the DA at 24.14%, the MK Party at 9.29%, the EFF at 6.21% and the IFP at 4.92%. The figures, recorded at 1.19pm with 81.5% of voting districts counted, reflected another bruising electoral performance for the ANC.
READ: Elections 2026 | ANC leads 62 councils as DA and MK consolidate provincial footholds
ANC veteran Mogomotsi Mogodiri wants the party to convene a Special National Conference or National Consultative Conference where members can openly interrogate the conduct of their leaders and the organisation's failure to retain public confidence.
His call has been reinforced by Mbombela ANC member and former Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) chairperson Victor Mashego, who believes political arrogance and factional gatekeeping have become deeply entrenched in the liberation movement.
"In addition, there is a need for an honest conversation within and across ANC ranks. This should include a gloves off assessment of the leadership at an urgent properly constituted Special National Conference or National Consultative Conference," Mogodiri said.
The criticism comes as the ANC faces challenges from opposition parties in several metropolitan municipalities following Wednesday's local government elections.
Mogodiri said the emerging results should force the ANC to confront uncomfortable questions about its leadership rather than manufacture excuses for its declining electoral fortunes.
He said:
"Whilst there are several factors that have conspired to bring the ANC close to its knees, the organisation is paying a high price for arrogance, incompetence, dishonesty, aloofness and corruption."
He accused the leadership of repeatedly dismissing warnings from liberation struggle veterans and ordinary party members.
According to Mogodiri, former liberation war veterans submitted proposals for organisational renewal during 2020 and 2021, but their recommendations were ignored.
He argued that the party had also failed to confront the lessons of the 2021 municipal elections and the 2024 general elections.
"They not only manufactured endless excuses and adopted a denialist posture but they also showed the voters the proverbial middle finger," he said.
READ MORE: Msibi's SDP threatens to dethrone ANC in Victor Khanye
Mashego, an ANC member from Mbombela, said political arrogance had created a culture in which leaders regarded themselves as untouchable and treated voters as instruments for obtaining power.
"Political arrogance is a manifestation of the inability to , dismissing the views of the people, and an equally overconfidence," he said.
He invoked former president Jacob Zuma's declaration that the ANC would govern until Jesus returned as an example of political certainty that could encourage complacency.
Mashego argued that leaders increasingly surrounded themselves with unquestioning loyalists while excluding members who challenged their decisions.
"People on the ground feel neglected, used like condoms, and treated as mere statistics rather than active participants in the democratic activities," he said.
He also criticised the enormous public expenditure associated with commissions of inquiry while unemployment and poverty continued to affect millions of South Africans.
Mashego warned that political arrogance could eventually destroy a governing party from within, describing it as a slow poison that would ultimately result in the loss of state power.
Mogodiri also raised concerns about the ANC's internal candidate selection processes, alleging that factional interests had repeatedly overridden the wishes of communities.
He claimed that some candidates nominated by residents had been discarded in favour of politically connected individuals.
The veteran further accused party leaders of allowing corruption and maladministration to continue despite repeated electoral warnings.
He cited allegations emerging from the Madlanga Commission as another reason for the ANC to reassess its political culture and accountability mechanisms.
READ MORE: Reginah Mhaule speaks on pain of deputising DA minister
Mogodiri said the ANC could no longer afford to respond to electoral setbacks through routine meetings and public assurances that the organisation would renew itself.
He wants members to confront the leadership directly through a properly constituted national gathering capable of examining the causes of declining support.
He said:
"It cannot be business as usual. Genuine ANC members must and should hold their leaders to account."
His proposal places internal accountability at the centre of the debate over the ANC's future, although no decision by the party to convene such a gathering has been established.
Mogodiri warned that continued failure to address the concerns of members and voters could have lasting consequences.
"Should they also fail to decisively act on this occasion, there might not be an ANC to speak of in the next elections."
RELATED: Mawande AmaShabalala | How the GNU is killing the ANC while feeding the DA beast
