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Journal of Public Administration (JOPA)

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ISSN : 2
Western Cape local government elections : triumph of the political over racial and religious identities?

Author: Leslie Dikeni

Affiliation: Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection

Source: Journal of Public Administration, 2022-05-03 14:02:58

Accreditation: Department of Higher Education and Training(DHET)



Abstract: Western Cape local government elections : triumph of the political over racial and religious identities?

This article examines the African National Congress's (ANC) declining electoral performance in the Western Cape. Its contention is that such decline reflects a failure by the ANC to temper its historically African nationalist orientation in cognisance of the minority status of the African population in the Western Cape. Nonetheless, the selection of Tony Ehrenreich as the mayoral candidate for the ANC in the Western Cape reflects an attempt by the party to move away from identity politics and more towards working-class politics. But, does this presuppose a triumph of the political over racial and religious identities? This question undergirds the essence of the discourse of the article in terms of its proposition.