ANC will not rent eight venues to broadcast rally — TimesLIVE
In South Africa, the African National Congress (ANC) will hold its planned final Siyanqoba election rally at Sisa Dukashe Stadium in KuGompo City, Eastern Cape province. At the same time, due to a lack of funds, the party will not rent another eight venues in other provinces for collective viewing of the event broadcast. This was reported by TimesLIVE.
ANC leader Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to address supporters at the rally. The party usually rents venues in eight other provinces for its supporters who cannot travel to the main event. According to the publication, political forces are spending significantly less on campaigns this year than during the 2024 general elections.
ANC says it lacks donations
ANC election campaign head Mdu Misen Ntuli confirmed that campaign donations were lower than the party had expected. He linked the difficulties to the state of the economy, which has made donors reluctant to finance political forces. According to Ntuli, limited resources caused the ANC to be late in launching its billboard campaign and active online presence.
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Ntuli also said that the campaign had been affected by the poor performance of a number of municipalities governed by the ANC. The party held a meeting with thousands of its local government councillors and gave them instructions on further work. The meeting drew public criticism following public remarks by Ramaphosa and ANC national chairperson Gwede Mantashe about the work of the municipalities.
Democratic Alliance funding
The Democratic Alliance (DA) received 104 million rand, or 89% of all declared donations to political parties in the last quarter, according to South Africa's Electoral Commission. DA federal chairperson and campaign head Ashor Sarupen explained the financial advantage by the early start of election preparations and regular contributions from supporters.
ActionSA campaign head Michael Beaumont said that the significant share of funding gives the DA an advantage in the fight for votes. Rise Mzansi campaign head Makashule Gana, for his part, said that election results are not determined solely by the amount of donations: his party received 15 million rand for the 2024 elections and won seats in parliament and the Gauteng legislature.
