South Africa’s biggest political parties – the ANC and the Democratic Alliance – are convinced they are losing votes because of a rise in tribalism and ethnic mobilisation.
They separately accused MK party leader Jacob Zuma and Patriotic Alliance president Gayton McKenzie of reintroducing tribalism and ethnic nationalism into South Africa’s democracy.
MK has attracted disgruntled ANC supporters in KwaZulu-Natal, while the PA has been winning people’s hearts in coloured communities in the Western Cape.
ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe suggested the success of MK in KZN was driven by a rise of tribalism.
Rejecting claims that poor service delivery by the ANC cost it votes in KZN, Mantashe disagreed and suggested the impact of MK is limited to KZN and may be driven by tribalism.
“If the impact is in KZN, it reflects something else, it reflects Zulu tribalism. And I don’t think we should lock ourselves into Zulu tribalism.
“Tribalism is a backward form of politics. It is having its time frame and then it disappears. So if that is the factor, I am not worried about it,” said Mantashe.
Meanwhile, chairperson of the DA federal council, Helen Zille, said the PA in the Western Cape was reaping the rewards of some “kind of ethnic identity vote”.
“I think that the Patriotic Alliance’s growth is primarily scooping up all the small parties like Good, like the PBI (Plaaslike Besorgde Inwoners).
“They have taken a big chunk from the ANC, and of course, they have taken some of our votes.
“Now, that represents a kind of ethnic identity vote, if I can put it that way. That should worry every single South African. If South Africa disintegrates into a whole range of ethnic identity votes, it is going to be very, very difficult to vote for a coherent government,” she said.
Zille accused McKenzie of only being interested in the coloured vote.
“You will know that Gayton has always said he is not interested in any other vote but the coloured vote. That speaks very strongly to that sense of that identity that he is trying to create for people, as coloured people, rather than as South Africans,” she said
MK condemned the ANC and the DA for their “reckless tribal-infused” statements.
“MK Party denounces the toxic remarks made by ANC’s Gwede Mantashe to characterise the MK Party’s electoral success in KZN as a product of Zulu tribalism.
“Helen Zille’s DA – a party that is nothing but a modern iteration of the apartheid-era National Party – has, like the ANC, also labelled the MK party’s success in KZN as ‘Zulu tribalism’.
“The truth is: KZN people are punishing the ANC of Ramaphosa for mismanaging the country by exacerbating unemployment, poverty, load shedding and the high costs of petrol and food, for destroying the state-owned enterprises; and the DA for its apartheid reminiscence,” the MK party said.
ELECTION RESULTS
With 55.19% of votes counted, the ANC had 41.95%, the DA 23.66%, MK 10.9% and the EFF 9.57%.
Pictured above: MK leader Jacob Zuma and PA president Gayton McKenzie.
Source: X
