As political parties gear up for the upcoming provincial and general elections, some analysts described the emergence of uMkhonto weSizwe as the most exciting as it had a possibility of harming the governing party in a big way.
Speaking to The Star, a political commentator and Citizen Forum spokesperson, Dennis Bloem, said the MK party was a big threat to the ANC as it was very clear that former president Jacob Zuma would take a big chunk of the party’s support in the coming elections.
Bloem said he was confident that the ANC was shivering every time they saw the big numbers the MK party was pulling at their rallies, because the ANC knew that some of the supporters were their members.
“I am definitely sure MK is causing sleepless nights for the ANC,” he said.
Bloem, however, said this upcoming election would not produce an outright winner, saying that no party would garner 50+1 support.
It would usher in a coalition government at the national level for the first time in the country, he said.
“It will be a very serious mistake if any party that garnered the majority votes in the election chooses only one political party to partner with.
“I will propose a Government of National Unity, where you bring in different parties, in that way, you stabilise the government,” Bloem said.
With the formation of the MK party and many South Africans viewing it as the alternative, this year's general elections are expected to be fiercely competitive.
At the past weekend, the MK party continued to demonstrate its power when it held a rally at KwaXimba in the west of Durban where hundreds of its supporters came out in their numbers to listen to Zuma in an ANC stronghold region.
Zuma announced early last month that he would no longer campaign for the ANC but would instead campaign for the newly-formed uMkhonto weSizwe.
Since Zuma’s announcement to campaign for the MK party, questions over his eligibility to hold public office have been making the rounds.
Responding to the former president’s eligibility to hold office, Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) chief Sy Mamabolo said that even though the matter was not before the commission in a formal sense, they were dealing with it in abstract terms.
“The constitutional provisions Section 47 says that if you had been sentenced to more than 12 months imprisonment without an option of a fine and in instances where you served the sentence, five years must have elapsed before they can hold office,” Mamabolo said.
The Star
Sipho Jack
sipho.sithole@inl.co.za