NFP disqualification, a betrayal of the electorate

Those passionate about politics often joke that splinter parties don’t do as good as they should because they are formed on the basis of anger. Those who leave the mother party feel aggrieved for having been overlooked for positions or somehow feel betrayed.

Many leadership squabbles by the new formations end up in courts of law as was seen with leadership contests in the Congress of the People (COPE) and more recently the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC).

 

But members of the National Freedom Party (NFP) weren’t finding it funny this week as news broke that their party wouldn’t partake in the local government elections on August 3th. Those responsible for the party’s coffers failed to pay the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) by 2 June to ensure participation.

 The IEC has also been criticised for disqualifying the NFP. “The IEC is very transparent on its website about the different requirements that are needed. These are things that needed to be done according to the time frames. I think it’s now unfortunate that the NFP supporters are now left in this space of uncertainty, ”says political analyst, Sanusha Naidu.

 

She says the Electoral Court’s confirmation of the IEC’s disqualification decision signals non-participation for those who had pinned their hopes on voting for the NFP, particularly at its strongholds, including KZN’s Zululand district. The party was gunning for at least 19 KZN municipalities where no party received an outright majority in the 2011 municipal elections.

 

What does it mean for NFP supporters?

 

This now leaves them in a space where they are completely unsure of what’s going to happen, says Naidu.

 

She says supporters will grapple with these questions: Do they vote? Do they shift their vote to some other political party? Or do they become apathetic because it’s the NFP they would have wanted to support?

 

In the past two days senior NFP officials resigned and thereafter revoked those resignations. Party president, Zanele ka Magwaza-Msibi reportedly failed to pitch at a much-anticipated top leadership meeting at the weekend. She hasn’t been well since suffering a stroke in 2014. Her daughter spoke on her behalf at the party’s manifesto launch in Vryheid, northern KZN, in June.

 

Despite this Naidu believes this is not the time for the NFP to apportion blame in light of the current crisis. She believes the crux, going forward, will be about how the party progresses  and manages to resolve its internal issues and re-group.

 

“It’s not just about the leader. I think parties should be able to effectively manage themselves even in situations where the leaders or heads of the parties are either not there or there’s some situation as is the case with the NFP.

 

“We need to in South Africa move beyond just the focus on the leader. We need to look at the ‘cohesiveness of a leadership’ and that is the difference between having just a leader and a leadership that’s able to run, effectively manage and operationalize the party even when the leader is not around” says Naidu.

 

While the NFP continues to grapple with internal struggles that the party has consistently denied, it’s the party faithful who will have to wait until the 2019 elections. Hopefully the party will put the 2016 elections fiasco behind it and rather focus on maintaining momentum in preparation for that poll.