MBOMBELA – Currently, the ANC is occupying 26 of those seats, with the opposition parties sharing the remaining four.
The DA has two seats, while the EFF and the Bushbuckridge Residents’ Association have one each.
It has been disclosed by the Independent Electoral Commission’s (IEC) acting provincial electoral officer, Jabulisile
Mthethwa, during a recent pledge-signing ceremony held in White River on April 12, that for a party to qualify to occupy one legislature seat, they need to have garnered at least 61 000 votes.
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Most of the new political parties are comprised of former members of the ANC.
One of them, the South African National Congress of Traditional Authorities (Sancota), is also composed of traditional leaders, mostly from the Nkangala District.
In the background, there are disgruntled ANC members with financial backing, like millionaire, Themba Sigudla, the
man behind the ultra-political formation, Practical and Radical Economic Transformation (PRET), There is also, among the 28 political parties, the Christian-oriented African
Transformation Movement (ATM) led by among others, Jimmy Manyi, a former head of the Government Communication and Information Systems (GCIS) and a staunch member of the ANC.
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The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), under Bishop Meshoe, has been in existence since 1994, to represent Christians in the national assembly, has now found competition in ATM. This is likely to further split the voters in the May 8 elections. Meshoe falsely stated on Sunday during an Easter service broadcast on SABC News that religious holidays were under threat of being scrapped by the national assembly.
It is also interesting because, for the past 25 years, their leaders have been conspicuous, attending church services
throughout the country near elections.
According to Mthethwa, “In an open and democratic society, citizens express their will through elections. In this
regard, elections are based on and must be conducted in accordance with a constitutional basis.
Section 19 of the constitution provides that “every citizen is free to make political choices which include to
form a political party; to participate in the activities of, or recruit members for a political party.
They also have a right to campaign for a political party or cause and that every citizen has the right to free, fair and
regular elections for any legislative body established in terms of the Constitution.
“Every adult citizen has the right to vote in elections for any legislative body established in terms of the Constitution,
and to do so in secret and to stand for public office, if elected, to hold office.”
