Former African National Congress (ANC) deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe says win or lose, he hopes the ANC reflects "very deeply" on how to "revamp and re-energise" the party after the May 8 national elections.

Speaking to Eyewitness News on the sidelines of the recent release of the Drakensberg Inclusive Growth Report, Motlanthe said this year's polls were going to be difficult for all political parties as many registered voters would be casting their ballot for the first time.

"And so they have no historical sentiment attachment to any party and my guess is that they are likely to assess each and every political party that is registered to contest these elections," Motlanthe says in the video interview.

He said while the ANC's leadership "feels that it should go into these elections presenting unity", he's confident they will "reflect very deeply" in their assessment of the party's performance in the polls.

He says there should be "no holy cows" when the party looks back at its performance.

In 2017, while being interviewed on BBC Hardtalk, Motlanthe said the ANC had to lose the 2019 elections for the "penny to drop".

"It has to lose elections for the penny to drop," said Motlanthe.

He said this was good because those members who are in it for "the largesse will quit it, will desert it and only then would the possibility arise for salvaging whatever is left of it".