JOHANNESBURG - The ANC will celebrate its 114th anniversary at Moruleng Stadium outside Rustenburg in North West.
The celebrations take place amid internal divisions and strained relations with alliance partners, particularly the South African Communist Party (SACP)
The SACP says it will contest independently in this year's local government elections.
Political analyst Sandile Swana says the ANC enters the election year under difficult conditions, with several of its municipalities showing signs of decline.
Swana points to audit outcomes and dysfunction.
“The ANC, in terms of both delivering continuing services as well as running itself, needs the strength of its branches, and its branches are in disarray," he explains.
Swana believes the party’s long-standing message of renewal has not caught on with the voters.
According to Swana, electoral trends in the North West illustrate the ANC’s shrinking support base.
“When you go to the year 2000, right up to the last election, in the local government election in 2021, when you start, the whole map basically of North West is yellow with the ANC dominating completely,”
“Today, it's like a fruit salad. There's no colour that is missing there. And the yellow has diminished substantially in the North West.”