Johannesburg, 16 April 2004
The people of South Africa have made a clear statement that they are confident that the ANC will lead them to the achievement of the goal of a better life for all.
In their millions, South Africans of all races have pledged that they are ready to enter into a people's contract to create jobs and fight poverty.
The people have voted overwhelmingly to renew the mandate of the ANC to govern South Africa.
They have done so because:
There are some in our country and the rest of the world who had invented stories about our government and our movement.
They said we had lost contact with the people.
They claimed that the people were angry and disillusioned with the ANC because we had failed to respond to their aspirations.
They said that the failures of the ANC government had led to disillusionment and apathy among the youth of our country.
They said all we had done was to enrich a few politically well-connected cronies of the leadership of our movement.
They claimed that the ANC government was little more than a bunch of corrupt individuals intent on stealing from the people.
They said we did not care for the interests of our country's national minorities.
They claimed that the traditional leaders were so disaffected that they would mobilise the rural masses to reject our movement.
They said the failures of the ANC government had resulted in the birth of so-called social movements that would succeed to persuade our people to boycott the elections.
They said that the ANC and the Tripartite Alliance were paralysed by internal divisions and factional fights that would make it difficult for us to act together to reach out to the people of South Africa.
This week, more than 10 million South Africans, 70% of those who voted, categorically rejected all these false accusations.
The made the clear statement that they refuse to be misled into voting against their movement, against their own interests.
I would like to take advantage of this happy occasion to thank the people of our country for the confidence in the ANC they have once more expressed in even larger numbers than those we achieved in 1999.
I would also like to thank all our people for carrying out their duty to exercise the right to vote and to decide who should govern South Africa.
All of us must also pay tribute to these masses for the way they conducted themselves, which has ensured that we have peaceful and dignified elections that are truly free and fair.
At the same time, I would also like to thank all the political parties for the way in which they handled themselves during the election campaign and the voting process, which made an enormous contribution to the further entrenchment of democracy in our country.
I would also like to thank the many party leaders who have already conveyed their congratulations to us on the unprecedented democratic victory of our movement.
Congratulations are due to all of them, whether they won or lost.
Our message to all of them is that there is life after the elections. We therefore invite them to join the people's contract to ensure that all our people unite in a mighty movement further to promote national unity and reconciliation, and take our country forward towards the realisation of the goal of a better life for all.
We would also like to say to them that during the election campaign we had yet another opportunity to listen to the demands of the people.
It is necessary that we respond to these as speedily as possible to confirm the correctness of the view of the masses of our people that our parties and organisations are committed to serve the people of South Africa.
I cannot go any further without thanking most sincerely all those who worked so hard to ensure that we secure the decisive victory that we have scored.
These include the ANC activists and volunteers, the leaders and members of our allies, the SACP, COSATU, SANCO and other formations of the democratic movement, our mobilisation machinery headed by Comrade Mannie Dipico, the companies and individuals who made the financial and other material contributions, and the masses of our people who inspired us to sustain our campaign by the warmth and enthusiasm with which they received all our campaign workers.
To all of them, on behalf of the united leadership of our broad movement, I say very well done! As you can see, the masses of our people heard your message and they like it!
We must also thank the IEC and all its temporary and permanent staff, the SAPS, the SANDF, our intelligence agencies, other state organs, and the mass media, all of whom ensured that today we can boast that ours have been peaceful, free and fair elections that are the envy of many across the world.
As a movement we must celebrate our victory with all due humility. We must not allow the decisive mandate we have received from the people to encourage an attitude of arrogance among ourselves.
What our people have said is that they charge us with the responsibility to work with them and with other organisations of the people to ensure that we achieve the goal of a better life for all.
They have said that they are renewing the mandate of the ANC so that we do even better that we have done in the past to serve the people of South Africa.
On behalf of the ANC and all the democratic forces of our country, I would like to tell all our people that we will not disappoint that expectation. As we said at the conclusion of the 1999 elections, we must now get down to work!
Thank you.