Mahikeng - The African National Congress (ANC) in North West needed to focus on delivering service to the people of the province, former premier Supra Mahumapelo said on Friday.
The most important task for "cadres of the movement" in North West, said Mahumapelo, had been to make sure the ANC won the province in Wednesday's national and provincial elections.
"Now that we have won, we are very happy, we are elated. We must now focus on the things we have to do to deliver services to our people," he told journalists at the North West election results operation centre in Mahikeng.
Mahumapelo said the ANC had to sit down and assess what had gone wrong with its voter support. Although the party received 61.87% of the provincial vote, it had dropped from the 67,39% it garnered in 2014.
It is now likely to shed three seats.
Mahumapelo was removed from serving as premier in 2018, and the party's provincial executive committee - which he chaired - was disbanded. This followed protracted and violent protests in the province. Job Mokgoro was appointed to replace Mahumapelo.
Mahumapelo and his supporters, however, won two high court bids challenging the disbanding of the provincial executive committee.
Just weeks before the elections took place, Vryburg residents took to the streets in service delivery protests. In Oukasie, near Brits, Bojanala region residents also staged violent protests demanding that 13 informal settlement in Oukasie be formalised.