A new party called Umkhonto Wesizwe is among the host of political parties that were registered between June 29, 2023 and September 18, 2023 to contest the national elections next year.
The country is expected to go to the polls before August next year with opposition parties expected to put up a bruising battle to try to unseat the governing ANC.
Although little is known about the Umkhonto Wesizwe political party, a registration notice shows that its offices are found in central Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.
According to a letter by the IEC to the party, one Jabulani Sibongiseni Khumalo is the contact person for the party.
In a recently released gazette, the party has been registered to contest the national elections.
The official gazette of the IEC (Electoral Commission of South Africa) shows that the party uses the M.K. abbreviations and it was officially registered on September 7, 2023.
However, the acting secretary-general of Umkhonto Wesizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA), Masechaba Motloung said they have nothing to do with the new party.
He said the registration of the party using their name is an opportunistic attempt to distort their history and pleaded with South Africans not to be confused by the new party.
Also being gazetted to contest the national elections was Act (African Congress for Transformation) which was recently unveiled by Ace Magashule, the former secretary-general of the ANC and Carl Niehaus’ African Radical Economic Transformation Alliance (ARETA).
Niehaus is the former spokesperson of the MKMVA and former national executive committee (NEC) member of the ANC during the tenure of former president Jacob Zuma.
sihle.mavuso@inl.co.za
IOL Politics