25 May 1999.
The ANC has noted the recently published results of the "Opinion'99 " Survey. The research for the poll was conducted during March 1999 and its results appear consistent with those of other polls conducted around the sametime.
The survey results indicate that among registered voters polled, 65% said they would be voting for the ANC. All other parties polled less than 10%, with the Democratic Party leading the field with 7%. The support base of New National Party under the uninspired leadership of Mr Marthinus Schalkwyk appears to have collapsed and stands at 6%, which represents a 14% drop from where it stood during the 1994 elections.
What the results indicate is that support for the ANC is steadily growing as our message reaches more and more voters. This is good news for the strategists who planned our election campaign because it demonstrates that our strategy is sound and is delivering the desired outcomes. All ANC activists can take heart from the growing evidence that the manner in which the ANC has approached these elections is not only paying dividends but is demonstrably producing the right resonance among the overwhelming majority of voters.
Unlike opposition the main opposition parties whose message has been negative and has sought to stimulate anxiety about the country, its government and the future, the ANC has resolutely stuck to a positive message, focussed on the challenges the country and the nation collectively face.
The results of the "Opinion '99" survey confirm our assessment of the national mood. The overwhelming majority of South Africans feel that the country in moving in the right direction and have high expectations for the coming year. This is especially so among African voters, who comprise some 70 % of the electorate.
The approval rating for Comrade President Thabo Mbeki, President of the ANC, is also high, having improved sharply since the last poll. 60% of South Africans believe the government is doing a good job, much higher than on any other previous occasion.
All these indications are cause for great optimism among ANC members and supporters. They should spur us to even greater efforts in continuing what we are doing, in the confidence that it is the right thing. There should however be no surrender to the temptation to become complacent. These are only the results of an opinion survey and not the results of the elections themselves. What will determine those results is the extent to which ANC members and supporters succeed in galvanising voters to go to the polls on June 2nd and cast their votes for the ANC.
Let us do everything we can to ensure an overwhelming majority for the ANC on 2nd June.
Together, Fighting for Change!
A Better Life for All.
Mbeki for President.
VOTE ANC!
Issued by the African National Congress
Elections Media Centre
Braamfontein.