ANC needs a big majority so it can make big decisions, says Zuma
Former president Jacob Zuma says the ANC cannot afford to be complacent ahead of this year's elections.
On Sunday, Zuma paid a visit to the Mohlakeng Methodist Church on the West Rand on what was the last day of the final registration weekend.
He later addressed a group of ANC supporters at the Winnie Mandela informal settlement at Bekkersdal.
He called on ANC supporters to go out and vote in order for the party to gain a majority.
“I have just conveyed that to the people here, that particularly members of the ANC and supporters must not be complacent that we are big and have been winning since 1994. It’s important that the votes of the ANC must grow all the time because the vote is the power. If you are in charge you have the power; that power must have a big size so that you can take big decisions because if your majority is small then the difference is very small, you need a bigger majority so that you can make big decisions,” said Zuma.
#VoterRegistration Zuma says members and supporters of the ANC should not be complacent in the upcoming elections. He says the ANC vote should grow. pic.twitter.com/H7HJnmG5ns
— Jacaranda News (@JacaNews) January 27, 2019
The former president has come in for criticism in the past, amid allegations of corruption and state capture against him, with many questioning whether he should be campaigning for the ANC.
ANC spokesperson Dakota Legoete said the culture of former presidents campaigning for the party was introduced by Nelson Mandela.
The culture is now being reintroduced after it was changed by former president Thabo Mbeki, Legoete explained.
“In 1999, President Nelson Mandela helped President Thabo Mbeki with the campaign. In 2004, President Nelson Mandela helped President Thabo Mbeki with the campaign of the ANC. It was only in 2009 where we changed because the then president Thabo Mbeki who contested elections in Polokwane said he would not want to rule from the grave.”