ActionSA performed strongly in Gauteng’s local government elections, pushing the ANC into third place in Tshwane. Marius Roodt sits down with Gabriel Makin two days after the 4 November vote to examine the reasons behind the party’s success and what Nasiphi Moya’s rise could mean for Herman Mashaba.

ActionSA is now the third-largest party in Gauteng, finishing second in Tshwane and third in Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni. Gabriel and Marius discuss an estimate by political analyst Gareth van Onselen suggesting that the ANC lost about 25 percentage points and the EFF about 9 percentage points in predominantly black voting districts. Of those combined 34 percentage points, he estimates that 14 went to the MKP and 10 to ActionSA.

They also examine how ActionSA, unlike the MKP and EFF, is not an ANC breakaway party, yet is attracting black voters from outside the Congress tradition. Its appeal includes its anti-foreigner messaging, Moya’s leadership in Tshwane, and voters looking for an alternative to the ANC and EFF.

Finally, they discuss ActionSA’s internal leadership dynamics, the fact that the party has never held a leadership conference, and the rise of Nasiphi Moya.