The ANC is losing members, having dropped by almost 180,000 people between December 2021 and December 2023.
In December 2021, the ANC had 866,511 members on its system, which dropped to 688,454 by December 2023. This is a significant and worrying dip, according to ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula.
The party saw a drop of 14% in its branches in the same period, from 4,417 in 2021 to 3,425 in 2023.
According to the ANC annual report released by Mbalula this week, the drop in party membership signals a bigger issue of possible bogus membership. This probably came about in an attempt to inflate party membership before the national conference in December 2022.
The ANC has often raised concern over inflation of its member numbers in provinces hoping to gain positions in the national executive committee (NEC).
Mbalula said another concern was that a significant number of people did not renew their membership after it expired. This was possibly because membership fees were paid by other people on their behalf for the purposes of the conference.
There was a need to strengthen membership controls and members were encouraged to manage their own membership on the system, he said.
KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and Gauteng recorded the biggest drop in membership of 42,623, 40,081 and 20,065, respectively, in the period.
The drop is consistent with the fall in party support in the May 29 general election. The party went from 57% in 2019 to 40% in 2024, prompting it to enter into a government of national unity (GNU) with 10 other political parties.
The GNU installed Cyril Ramaphosa as president. On Thursday Ramaphosa is expected to deliver the opening of parliament address in Cape Town.
KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng support dropped significantly in the elections, with the ANC losing its majority in the two provinces. The ANC lost power KwaZulu-Natal but managed to hang on in Gauteng, installing its premier with the help of the government of provincial unity. KwaZulu-Natal is now led by the IFP with its coalition partners. The Jacob Zuma-led MK party overtook the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal.
“[This] shows that even just on the basis of the narrow definition of branches in good standing, there was a 14% reduction in the number of ANC branches in good standing from a year before,” said Mbalula.
“Most worrying, however, are KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape that have nearly 35% of their branches not in good standing since a year before, followed by Free State at 14% less.”
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