What would a parliament with Julius Malema be like and does Agang have a fighting chance? Listen to an excerpt on the M&G's weekly radio show.
Dr Mamphela Ramphele’s political party Agang South Africa is but two days old, but the possibility of it entering an alliance with the Congress of the People (Cope) and the United Democratic Movement (UDM) ahead of the 2014 national elections is already being vaunted behind closed doors.
While there is "nothing concrete to write home about" regarding the nuts and bolts of a possible coalition between the three parties, UDM leader Bantu Holomisa said on Sunday the parties held a meeting in May, and another meeting is on the cards for mid-July.
Agang SA was launched at an event in Pretoria on Saturday, bringing an end to its short existence as a "political party platform". Ramphele told hundreds of attendees that Agang SA intended contesting the 2014 elections.
Ramphele launched a blistering attack on President Jacob Zuma and the ANC, saying their “arrogance” was “breathtaking”.
She said the current leadership of the country “acted with impunity”, using state resources to enrich themselves and their families.
“The arms deal, Nkandla, the Guptas, the list of these abuses goes on and on. These are not the leaders our country deserves,” Ramphele said.
The Sunday Times reported the three parties discussed the possibility of a coalition.
Informed by the party's 'values'
Agang SA communications director Thabo Leshilo was coy about the prospects of the coalition. He told the Mail & Guardian the party would consult with its membership about the possibility. Without providing details, he said the discussions would be informed by the party’s “values”.
“Our mandate for now is to form a party which will contest the elections. Our intention is to change the complexion of South African politics.”
He said Agang SA had been in talks across “political platforms” and with civil society groups. He could not elaborate on what these talks had resolved, but said Agang SA would look for partners who shared its values.
These included a commitment to uphold the Constitution, freedom, Ubuntu, and the recognition that the country had a history of oppression that needed to be addressed, he said.
“This will have an effect on what informs our interactions with other political parties,” Leshilo said.
Holomisa said the three parties were in agreement that the Democratic Alliance (DA) would not be a partner in the coalition, but did not rule out the possibility of including “other” political parties, he said.
Next step
Holomisa said the May meeting resolved that Agang SA “must launch”, and that “Cope must speed up its court cases” before further discussions could take place.
In part, the July meeting will assess Cope’s current legal battles, as the coalition is wary of “another section of Cope contesting the leadership”, he added.
The latest round of legal wrangling in Mosiuoa Lekota’s Cope camp saw the Supreme Court of Appeal uphold an order by the Western Cape High Court, ordering the reinstatement of Cope MP Hilda Ndude in May. Lekota challenged the high court's decision.
Ndude was removed from Cope in early 2012 following allegations of fraud, including the misappropriation of party funds.
The party, which garnered 7.4% of votes cast in the 2009 national elections, has been crippled by an ongoing court dispute between Lekota and Cope’s former deputy president, Mbazima Shilowa.
Clarity
Holomisa said it was agreed that a resolution to Cope’s legal woes was needed before the parties could formalise the coalition. There was also no clarity on what role each of the parties would play in the 2014 elections campaign.
"As of now there is nothing concrete to write home about. But we agreed that there was a need to discuss forming a coalition. The parties must still sit down and hammer out the form [that the coalition will take],” said Holomisa.
Whatever the format of the new coalition, Holomisa was adamant that it would not involve one party “swallowing” the other, and insisted that none of the parties were willing to part with their respective identities.
“Unlike the DA … they wanted us to take dual membership … they were told to go and jump,” Holomisa said.
Meanwhile, the DA congratulated Agang SA on its launch on Saturday, with spokesperson Mmusi Maimane saying the party welcomed any political party which would “add to the realignment of politics in South Africa”.
'Strong and growing alternative'
Maimane said a divided opposition would not benefit the country, and said that a “strong and growing alternative” in opposition politics was needed.
While Agang, Cope and the UDM did not agree on policies at the May meeting either, Holomisa felt there were “commonalities” in this regard between the three: the need for good governance, a desire to see education reforms, concern about high levels of poverty, and electoral reform.
The parties agree that the Electoral Act should be amended so as to allow for the direct election of the president and members of Parliament.
Holomisa said the three parties also wanted to see the economy restructured.
The parties had not discussed the issue of land reform specifically, he said, although the issue was “non-negotiable” and said no party could claim to represent South Africans without addressing it.
“I guess we need to start with the current policy,” he said. “We need to ask ourselves if it is working. Nine times out of 10, South Africans agree that government’s policies are good but the implementation thereof is poor, and the people who are appointed to oversee implementation are mediocre.
“We will feel strongly that one has to check what went wrong with the current policy,” he said.
'Commonalities
Meanwhile, the three parties have also not discussed who would lead the coalition or who would be the face of its election campaign. This was “not a priority", said Holomisa. It was more important to decide on “commonalities”.
The UDM said that it hoped Cope’s court cases “would have been set aside” by July.
“We don’t want to see another section of Cope saying we are not part of that [the coalition].”
“After that we will go to a ‘bosberaad’ and start establishing committees. We have to decide on what kind of coalition we want. Will there be one list of candidates? If we go for an umbrella-type of coalition, what kind do we want? And so on. So, there’s a lot of technical work to be done,” Holomisa said.
Cope could not be reached for comment at the time of publishing.