Internal divisions and bitter leadership struggles spoiled black opposition parties’s election chances, reports Wally Mbhele
South Africa’s second democratic election virtually spelled the death knell for those black opposition parties who have positioned themselves to the left of the African National Congress.
The Azanian People’s Organisation (Azapo) and its breakaway Socialist Party of Azania (Sopa), who have entered the contest for the election for the first time this year, failed to muster even a mere 1% of the vote.
Only the pathetic Pan Africanist Congress appears likely to return to Parliament, although its support from black voters still remains dismal. Among these three black organisations, which have positioned themselves as viable alternative parties with the potential to pull a vast number of black supporters away from the ANC, none appears to have a chance of survival after this election.
All three organisations have been wrecked by internal divisions and bitter leadership struggles that tore them apart before the election. Commanding only a fraction of black support in the townships, Azapo split into two factions when its former president, Lybon Mabaso, led a breakaway group and formed Sopa.
The PAC’s position was made catastrophic by the never-ending acrid leadership struggles since the organisation was unbanned and its former president, Zephania Mothopeng, died. There is still a significant number of its supporters harbouring political sour grapes about the dramatic removal of Mothopeng’s successor, Clarence Makwetu.
While its new leader, former Methodist cleric Stanley Mogoba, was believed to be the man to save the party and revive it for this election, his efforts to bring unity in the organisation have failed. But many of the organisation’s members in the Eastern Cape and the East Rand still regard Makwetu as the PAC leader.
This embarrassment of black opposition parties at the polls has made them look like political amateurs compared with the better showing from newcomers like the United Democratic Movement and the Federal Alliance. “It could mean the end of the road for us if we cannot all unite against the ANC after this election,” said a disillusioned Azapo supporter in Katlehong on the East Rand this week.
Not even in Gauteng’s East and West townships did there appear to be any sign of the existence of these parties as most people interviewed on election day appeared not to know about their existence or if they were running for election.
In most Gauteng areas the Mail & Guardian visited on Wednesday, it was difficult to trace supporters of these organisations. With the exception of the PAC, election posters were also hard to find. Those few of their members who were identified appeared to have resigned themselves to casting their votes for other parties or not voting at all.
Sopa attempted to attract support from the townships by saying “black people first”, but the organisation’s campaign was virtually absent and unattended in most areas where it tried to attract voters.
Commenting on these parties’ poor performance, South African Communist Party general secretary Blade Nzimande described them as “old remnants of the black consciousness movement”.
Nzimande said the “black people first” slogan failed because it did not identify the majority of black people, in particular, the black working class. “They have no future and they are not going to survive this election. They’ll be wiped out,” he said.
Nzimande, who insisted that the SACP remains the only credible socialist organisation in the country, said both Azapo and Sopa have come across to voters as “clowns” and they have failed to talk about serious political issues .
Nzimande said the reason the PAC was also failing to become a trustworthy black opposition was because the organisation did not emerge as friendly to the working class. The reason it broke away from the ANC, he said, was because the PAC hated the presence of communists in the ANC.
“They pursue policies which are much closer to the Democratic Party than to the ANC, even in Parliament. People do not believe them. They’ll be finished with this election,” said Nzimande.
At the Independent Electoral Commission’s Pretoria headquarters on election day, officials of Azapo and Sopa maintained a stony silence about their future in South Africa’s political terrain. As results started pouring in on Thursday, they switched off their cellphones and failed to return messages.
Most political observers agree that the black opposition is now faced with the choice of either uniting or being condemned to political oblivion. There has been already been talk of a possible merger between the PAC and Azapo after this election.
According to Nzimande, “no one is sure if these organisations know what they mean when they talk about unity because they use socialism as a mere slogan”. He contends that the home of all socialists and left- wing activists is within the tripartite alliance of the ANC, the SACP and the Congress of South African Trade Unions.