Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba has conceded that more people than ever before feel that the ANC is steering the country in the wrong direction.
In an interview with Sowetan, Gigaba, who is the ANC's head of election research and content, said the party's survey showed that although there was an unprecedented number of people who were unhappy with the ANC, they would not dump the party.
Corruption and leaders who are disconnected from citizens featured high among the issues raised.
Also read: An era of coalition could see ANC lose out
He said many people were also feeling the effects of slow economic growth, which stunted job creation and hampered the ability of the government to deliver services.
"The issues which have been raised by Ipsos Markinor, and even by ANN7 - that the mood in the country at the present moment is negative. mainly because of the economic slowdown; [that] there is an unprecedented number of people who are feeling that the country is going in the wrong direction - all of those are issues that we have picked up from our research.
"People don't view the elections as a referendum on the ANC. From our research people believe that only the ANC can deliver a better life that they want," Gigaba said.
He said their work had shown that ANC members and voters were critical of the performance of ANC leaders at different levels of government.
"They are not blind loyalists of anybody. Even though the ANC will remain a predominant political organisation, even its own members are critical of its own leadership; they are critical of the performance of the political leadership of the ANC at different levels."
He said their biggest concern was voter turnout on Wednesday.
The Independent Electoral Commission announced this week that this year's local election will be the biggest and most hotly contested in the history of the country. A record number of registered voters (23.6million), parties and independent candidates had been listed.
Gigaba was confident that the party would receive more than 60% of the overall votes.
Voters unhappy with ANC: Gigaba
Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba has conceded that more people than ever before feel that the ANC is steering the country in the wrong direction.
In an interview with Sowetan, Gigaba, who is the ANC's head of election research and content, said the party's survey showed that although there was an unprecedented number of people who were unhappy with the ANC, they would not dump the party.
Corruption and leaders who are disconnected from citizens featured high among the issues raised.
Also read: An era of coalition could see ANC lose out
He said many people were also feeling the effects of slow economic growth, which stunted job creation and hampered the ability of the government to deliver services.
"The issues which have been raised by Ipsos Markinor, and even by ANN7 - that the mood in the country at the present moment is negative. mainly because of the economic slowdown; [that] there is an unprecedented number of people who are feeling that the country is going in the wrong direction - all of those are issues that we have picked up from our research.
"People don't view the elections as a referendum on the ANC. From our research people believe that only the ANC can deliver a better life that they want," Gigaba said.
He said their work had shown that ANC members and voters were critical of the performance of ANC leaders at different levels of government.
"They are not blind loyalists of anybody. Even though the ANC will remain a predominant political organisation, even its own members are critical of its own leadership; they are critical of the performance of the political leadership of the ANC at different levels."
He said their biggest concern was voter turnout on Wednesday.
The Independent Electoral Commission announced this week that this year's local election will be the biggest and most hotly contested in the history of the country. A record number of registered voters (23.6million), parties and independent candidates had been listed.
Gigaba was confident that the party would receive more than 60% of the overall votes.
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