ANC faces wave of new competition in heartland

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STUART GRAHAM | PORT ELIZABETH, SOUTH AFRICA - Apr 20 2009

The ANC is in no danger of losing its heartland -- the Eastern Cape -- on election Wednesday, but for the first time the party is facing a wave of new competition from disgruntled supporters looking for solutions to old problems.

On Thursday thousands of supporters wearing yellow Congress of the People T-shirts turned out in force to hear party leader Mvume Dandala speak in the African National Congress strongholds of King William's Town and the town of his birth, Mount Ayliff.

A day earlier, Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille had a crowd of hundreds singing and cheering her on in the town of Butterworth, another ANC stronghold. The party's support has grown dramatically from 250 votes in Butterworth in the 2004 national election to more than 5 000 votes in the 2006 municipal election.

ANC faces wave of new competition in heartland - Mail & Guardian Online: The smart news source

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