‘No coalition plans for ANC,’ Motlanthe says as he casts his vote

Former president Kgalema Motlanthe says that the ANC is not planning for a coalition government in the hotly contested province of Gauteng.

“We didn’t campaign for that; we campaigned so that the ANC should get a clear majority. That wasn’t part of the plan. If it eventually happens we will take it from there but for now the ANC will win,” Motlanthe told journalists as he queued outside the Killarney Country Club, where he and his wife Gugu Mtshali cast their vote this morning.

Gauteng has received the bulk of campaigning resources, particularly with the top three parties.

Read: ANC’s toughest test as voters want jobs, land reform and end to corruption

The ANC in Gauteng believes that it will retain the province with at least 56% of the vote while the DA’s internal polls state that the governing party will fall as low as 44% in Gauteng.

“This is the sixth time that I am casting my vote and it feels great. I am glad that there are 78 parties registered to contest these elections, which means more people show confidence in the system, even though at the end most of the parties don’t make it. But the fact that they raise their hands and participate in the election is very important,” the former president said.

Motlanthe said that he believed that this election was the ANC’s last chance to prove itself.

“Indeed the penny has dropped. I think the ANC is well aware that this is the last chance and therefore I have no doubt in my mind that soon after the elections they will attend to all the weaknesses.”

On whether or not the ANC had done enough to convince voters that the tide was turning, Motlanthe threw his weight behind President Cyril Ramaphosa but said the ultimate decision lay with voters themselves.

“People have to make that assessment themselves but the fact that there is a new head of state who is committed to ensuring that all the problems that have been laid bare in the commissions of inquiry will be attended to and it will be that those things never occur again – but people have to make that assessment themselves.”

Motlanthe arrived shortly after 8am and braved the early morning chill and queued alongside fellow Killarney residents.

“If you jump the queue in this respect of casting a vote, what stops you from jumping the queue in other respects so it is the right thing to do I think.”

	S'thembile Cele Journalist City Press p: +27 11 713 9001 w: www.citypress.co.za  e: Sthembile.Cele@citypress.co.za
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