A leaked internal report has unveiled the African National Congress (ANC)'s canvassing targets in the Western Cape, showing a massive collapse in the election campaign in the province.

In a bid to garner support, key ANC figures from other provinces were drafted in over the weekend. Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane and Eastern Cape ANC Secretary Lulama Ngcukayitobi spearheaded the campaign, marking Ngcukayitobi's second visit to the region this month. Their itinerary predominantly targeted black and coloured communities as well as Khoi and San groups.

Despite these efforts, the internal report paints a bleak picture. The ANC has achieved only 26.4% of its door-to-door canvassing targets across the Western Cape. Even more cringeworthy are the figures from Mitchells Plain and the southern suburbs, where just 3% of targets have been met. Atlantis and Milnerton met just 7.5% of its quota, while Elsies River and Bonteheuwel stand at 7.8%. The best performing constituencies are still dismal efforts: the Central Karoo reports a 30% completion rate, the Boland 27.5%, and the West Coast 26.4%.

Cameron Dugmore, the ANC’s head of elections in the province, defended the campaign, by saying that “the stats show an ANC that has canvassed tens of thousands more voters than we did in 2021. This has been done with painstaking door-to-door voter contact by over 10,000 of our committed volunteers. We are in a much stronger position than before."

But this optimism cannot argue with the numbers. The ANC aims to canvass 879,212 voters by Wednesday but has reached only 231,913 so far. Dugmore highlighted the involvement of members from the national executive committee, Cosatu, SACP, Sanco, and the ANC's various leagues to paint the picture of a united movement, even as two of its major factions are already campaigning under different parties, namely the EFF and MK parties.

"This is something we did not have in 2019. Our canvassing numbers are increasing every day. A number of our local election teams have gone above 50% already – an incredible achievement. Our canvassers also report massive unhappiness with the DA across the province," Dugmore added.

Worse, with the elections just around the corner, the ANC has yet to announce its premier candidate for the Western Cape. Among the contenders are Naledi Pandor, Ayanda Bans, and Muhammad Khalid Sayed, as submitted by the provincial executive committee to the national structure.

During a recent visit to Cape Town, President Cyril Ramaphosa reassured Rylands residents that discussions on selecting a candidate were ongoing.

Voters might be somewhat reassured by the fact that service delivery deficits affect not just citizens, but party politics too.

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