African National Congress (ANC) President Jacob Zuma says South Africa is going through a very robust election period, with huge a huge mass participation by people.

Addressing foreign diplomats in Tshwane yesterday (Wednesday, 11 March 2009), hours after signing the Independent Electoral Commission's Electoral Code of Conduct for political parties contesting the 22 April 2009 elections, Zuma said he was "very pleased with the way our election campaign is going".

Zuma: "We have no worries about the elections as we know that they will take place as peacefully as the previous ones since 1994. The tensions on the ground in some provinces are manageable. Political parties will be able to find solutions, working with the IEC.

"I met with the President of the Inkatha Freedom Party, Dr Mangosuthu Buthelezi recently, and we agreed to work together to ensure peace and stability especially in KwaZulu-Natal.

"Our leaders on the ground have already met and have worked out mechanisms of ensuring the implementation of our agreement."

The ANC was pleased with the ANC election campaign. "We are overwhelmed by the show of support, and have seen unprecedented numbers of people in our rallies and other public meetings," said Zuma.

Zuma: "Whenever we reach an election period we become very excited as South Africans. We remember how far we have come since 1994, given the horrific history of oppression and racism.

"We are proud of our country's achievements and the vibrant constitutional democracy that we have managed to establish and consolidate.

"The elections are a key barometer of any country's democracy. They indicate how free a society is, through the manner in which the population is able to exercise the right to vote and also for individuals to stand for election to public office.

"Our country has proved to be successful in this regard. This is visible through the various political parties that are represented in parliament, and new ones that are standing for elections.

"An outstanding achievement is also the primacy of the Constitution and democratic processes in our land." Zuma said the international community could rest assured that South Africa had come of age since 1994. "Our democratic institutions are growing stronger each day, and our Constitution continues to guide us on the way forward," added Zuma.

Said Zuma: "I saw a few members of the diplomatic corps at the launch of our election manifesto in East London, they experienced the campaign in full swing! We are also pleased to have produced a true people's Manifesto. During the drafting of the Manifesto, we received inputs from individuals and organised formations from all over the country.

"Our Manifesto has spells out what we want to do. We decided to focus on five key priorities in which we want to make a difference, which is not to say that other areas will be neglected.

"These are education, health, rural development and land reform, the fight against crime and the creation of decent jobs. We believe that if we deliver on these goals we will make a dent in the fight against poverty in our country.

"We want to change the way our public service works. We will work with our public servants to promote a new way of working, which is people centred and which ensures efficiency and speed in the delivery of services. We also emphasise that we are serious about the fight against corruption in all its manifestations. This includes the corruption that may arise out of the manipulation of the states resources and institutions to deal with political opponents."

The ANC was committed to focus on nation building, "to bring our people even closer together after the elections". "We will work to build a constructive working relationship with political parties in parliament. We believe there are issues that we can cooperate on, such as the 2010 FIFA World Cup and dealing with the global economic crisis."

"These issues, in our view, should be above the level of point-scoring as they are in the national interest," said Zuma.

Turning to the global economic crisis, he said: "Our country, like the rest of the world, will feel the pinch of the global economic crisis, particularly due to the high rate of commodity exports that we rely on.

"Over the past few weeks the ANC has engaged intensively with business and labour, and we are confident that we will weather the storm due to the regulatory systems we currently have in place. We are therefore mindful of the challenges in the road ahead.

"The stoic focus of the South African Reserve bank, coupled with the Credit Act created an environment that forced discipline in terms of the loan books in our banking institutions."

Issued by:
African National Congress

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