ANC thanks the people for Siyanqoba support

20 April 2009

The African National Congress (ANC) expresses its gratitude to scores of South Africans who took part in the Siyanqoba rallies throughout the country to listen to the final call to vote by ANC President Jacob Zuma and message from former President Nelson Mandela.

Over half a million people attended rallies in the ten stadiums.

The main national rally held at the Ellis Park and the adjacent Johannesburg Stadium drew a total of 180,000 people, followed by KwaZuluNatal with a crowd of 80,000. Sixty thousand people turned up in the Eastern Cape, 55,000 in the Free State, 50,000 in Limpopo, 35,000 in the North West, 30,000 in Mpumalanga, 25,000 in the Western Cape and 18,000 in the Northern Cape.

Having wrapped up our campaign with multitudes behind us, we have reached a defining moment in the history of democracy in our country to proclaim that we are ready to fulfil the mandate of our people as defined in the ANC Election Manifesto.

We thank ANC provincial leaders, ANC staff, volunteers, marshals, business people, professionals, religious leaders, traditional leaders, and members of the cultural and sporting fraternity for having worked tirelessly to give our campaign a boost.

We express our appreciation to our Alliance partners - the SA Communist Party (SACP), Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and the South African National Civics' Organisation (SANCO) - for having made available dedicated cadres to work with us in this campaign. Workers, through COSATU's affiliates, have held rallies during the campaign to ensure that the ANC wins the 2009 election with an overwhelming victory.

In the words of ANC President Jacob Zuma, casting our vote for the ANC will mean a fitting tribute to "generations of courageous women and men who sacrificed so much, so that we could exercise this right to vote, and so that we could be free".

Isuued by African National Congress