The hopes and fears of politicians across the country lie with the Cape High Court on Monday, as it weighs up the United Democratic Movement’s (UDM) challenge to the defection legislation.
Late on Thursday night judge Hennie Nel issued an interim interdict putting the package of four crossing-the-floor laws on hold pending Monday’s hearing by a full bench.
The move caused consternation among public representatives who had already made public their intentions to abandon their parties.
Defections could cost the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) its control of KwaZulu-Natal, where three members of the finely-balanced provincial legislature on Friday announced their move to the African National Congress (ANC).
The laws will also decide the future of the Cape Town metro, where the ANC/New National Party (NNP) grouping is already claiming victory against the incumbent Democratic Alliance (DA).
Chief state law adviser Enver Daniels said on Sunday that the state legal team would argue on Monday that the UDM made Thursday night’s application too late, because the law had already come into effect some seven hours earlier. The UDM has rejected this.
Daniels said the state team would also argue on Monday that the High Court had no jurisdiction in a constitutional matter.
The ANC says it has won a court interdict to block a DA bid to replace two KwaZulu-Natal MPLs who have defected to the ANC.
Provincial ANC representative Sbu Ndebele said the interdict was granted by a Pietermaritzburg High Court judge on Sunday afternoon.
It restrained the Speaker of the provincial legislature from swearing in replacements for any of the four MPLs — two from the Democratic Party and two from the Inkatha Freedom party — who announced on Friday they were defecting to the ANC.
”We are joyous, we are exuberant about it,” said Ndebele.
Democratic Alliance provincial representative Mike Gjestland said he was not aware that anyone in his party had been contacted over the court application.
The ANC is understood to have a fifth defector lined up, whose name it has not yet released. The defections, if valid, will tip the balance of power in the province firmly from the IFP to the ANC.
The four MPLs announced on Friday they were transferring their allegiance to the ANC — despite the fact that the defection laws signed by President Thabo Mbeki on Wednesday have been suspended by the Cape High Court.
The DA immediately contacted the Independent Electoral Commission to set in motion the process of putting its own nominees into the seats of defectors Belinda Scott and Tim Jeebodh.
DA provincial leader Roger Burrows said earlier on Sunday that his party had received ”urgent approaches” by lawyers acting on behalf of the ANC and Scott, saying they would be instituting legal action against the DA in order to prevent the party from filling the posts.
”The DA confirms that we intend to go ahead as legally required with the selection procedure laid down constitutionally,” Burrows said in a statement then. ”We do not intend to delay this procedure.”
DA provincial chairman Mike Ellis also said earlier the party intended taking the next two candidates from its party list to the legislature on Monday.
The IFP said it would back the UDM in its bid to overturn the crossing-of-the-floor legislation, UDM leader Bantu Holomisa said on Sunday.
He said IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi had told him his party wanted to join the UDM’s application to the Constitutional Court against the legislation. Holomisa said the UDM welcomed the news.
The IFP would however not participate in Monday’s hearing in the Cape High Court. – Sapa