The Rosebank, Johannesburg, 21 April 2009
On Sunday, the ANC held its final election rally in Johannesburg and in centres across the country.
Over half a million people took part in these rallies, demonstrating the depth of support for the African National Congress and the determination of the people to cast their votes in tomorrow’s election.
It was the culmination of four months of intensive campaigning, in which ANC leaders, candidates and volunteers have tried to visit every home in the country.
We have made every effort to speak to voters about our plans for the next five years, and to find out from them their concerns and aspirations.
We are overwhelmed by the response of the masses of our people. There is an energy and excitement about this election that we have not witnessed since our first democratic election in 1994.
We anticipate a massive turnout at the polls tomorrow, and we expect that the people of this country will once again give the ANC a huge and decisive mandate to work together with them to further improve their lives.
We will not take the support of the people for granted. We know that with this mandate comes a great responsibility, and that we will be held to account for what we do.
We reiterate that we will use our majority responsibly, and will not ride roughshod over the rights of the people, or bulldoze other parties into submission.
We will emphasise openness, dialogue, as well as inclusiveness in our actions, in order to build a united and successful nation.
We congratulate all South Africans and all political parties for a vibrant election campaign.
Although emotions were intense, incidents of intolerance and violence were minimal.
We urge our law enforcement agencies to protect our people and deal with those who may try to disturb, hinder or intimidate voters in all provinces, including KwaZulu-Natal.
We appeal to all citizens to respect the right of each and every South African to freely cast their votes.
We trust the ability and determination of our law enforcement agencies to deal with those who break the law decisively.
We also have confidence in the Independent Electoral Commission and trust it to deliver an efficient and smooth election, as they have done in previous ones. They have always performed in a manner that instills pride in every South African!
We welcome all the election observers from SADC and all over the world. We appreciate their support as an election must not only be free and fair, but must also be seen to be free and fair.
We appeal to members of the public to cooperate with observer missions throughout the country.
We congratulate the youth for registering to vote in large numbers. This augurs well for our democracy.
We urge our 18 year olds to go out and celebrate their right to vote for the first time tomorrow.
Many South Africans lost their lives fighting for freedom and the right to vote, and our youth must never take this right for granted.
We are confident of taking a huge slice of the youth vote in the country.
The youth excitement about the ANC assures us that this movement has a great future, and can only grow from strength to strength.
Going forward, we reiterate that the transition to a new government will be smooth. The ANC’s Transition Management Team has been hard at work planning the transition, and looking at how to make the national executive of government more efficient and effective. The incoming administration will make changes to certain cabinet portfolios, based on the experiences of 15 years in government and the priorities for the five years ahead. Certain portfolios are likely to be split to allow for greater focus on key areas.
This will be explained in detail at the right time, together with the finer detail of our programme of action.
We know also that our people have great expectations as the ANC campaign message has captured their imagination. They will expect faster action and visible change in their lives.
We will deploy all our resources, capacity and energy to meet these expectations. Critically, we will remain true to our election message – that we will work together with all South Africans to build a nation of expanding opportunities for all.
We enter tomorrow’s election confident that we have done what is necessary to secure a huge and decisive mandate.
We call on all South Africans to go out in big numbers to cast their votes for the ANC tomorrow.
Every vote counts in the struggle to build a better life for all.
I thank you.
Issued by:
African National Congress
Enquiries:
Brian Sokutu 071 671 6919
Ishmael Mnisi 082 333 5550