While it is unclear who will take over from President Cyril Ramaphosa as leader of the ANC, their ability to win votes will be extremely important. It may be constructive to examine what five of the most likely candidates would bring to the electorate.
As our politics becomes more competitive than ever before, the identity of the leader of each party has become more important.
One of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s great strengths when he became leader of the ANC was that he was more popular than the party. The ANC itself said that he played a major role in helping it win the 2019 election (this was hugely contested at the time, and the then secretary-general, Ace Magashule, was forced to publicly disavow his comment that Ramaphosa had not played an important role).
Ramaphosa’s deteriorating popularity among voters, partly due to his inaction against corruption, and the Phala Phala scandal, might well have played a role in the ANC’s dramatic decline last year.
This shows how important the vote-winning ability of a new ANC leader will be.
