‘We will win’: South Africa’s ruling ANC confident despite party ‘missteps’

Is the ‘freedom’ the governing party brought to South Africa still enough for voters 30 years later?

Johannesburg, South Africa – The stadium overflowed with yellow, green and black as tens of thousands of African National Congress (ANC) faithful gathered in Soweto for the final rally of the 2024 election campaign.

Billed as the Siyanboqo Rally, a word derived from Zulu that means “we conquer” or “we win”, the atmosphere on Sunday was no different from the dozens of ANC rallies I have attended during decades of reporting in South Africa.

But this election is a different one from the six that preceded it since apartheid ended in 1994. This year is a crucial vote for the governing party that polls say risks losing its majority for the first time in 30 years.

At my broadcast position high above the enormous stage, I spoke to several ANC leaders – all of whom were confident the organisation was going to hold on to power.

It would get more than 50 percent of the votes and there was no thought of having to form a coalition and govern with another party or other parties, officials said.