Over 70 ANC leaders to be without a job in Parliament after party's dismal election showing

JOHANNESBURG - More than 70 African National Congress (ANC) leaders will now be out of a job in Parliament following the party’s dismal showing at the polls this past week.

ANC support has dropped significantly since the 2019 general elections, shedding almost 20 percentage points this time around.

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A combination of the party’s mismanagement and the emergence of the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party are believed to be among the reasons for the ANC’s failure to hold on to absolute power.

More than 16 million voters cast their ballots in the 29 May elections. In the end, the ANC won just above 40% of that vote.

Jacob Zuma’s MK Party emerged as the wonderkid of the political parties, becoming the third biggest party in the National Assembly.

To make way for the MK Party and other parties that grew in these elections, some ANC members of Parliament (MPs) will now have to pack their bags and leave the parliamentary precinct.

Who stays and who goes will depend on the ANC’s candidate list submitted to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) before the elections.

The MPs who don’t make it back to Parliament are still expected to receive some benefits. This includes the end-of-service gratuity paid to MPs who completed the five-year term.