The Inkatha Freedom Party has called its national council together tomorrow evening in Durban to discuss the issue of dissolving the KwaZulu Natal legislature in order to force an election in the province.
Members of the council which includes its Members of Parliament and members of the nine legislatures as well as its 34 members as the provincial legislature it controls in KwaZulu Natal will be meeting at a Durban hotel tomorrow evening — just before Wednesday’s meeting of the KwaZulu Natal legislature where the Democratic Alliance and the IFP majority is expected to dissolve the house.
IFP representative Musa Zondi confirmed that members of the council would be meeting tomorrow to “ensure that everything is on track … with regard to the implementation of the decision (to call an election)”.
Provincial Premier Lionel Mtshali last Thursday called a special session of the legislature this Wednesday to dissolve the legislation and force elections within 90 days — by April 8.
Asked if there could be any compromise with the ANC — which says that there is no reason to dissolve the legislature — Zondi said the IFP was open to a meeting with the African National Congress but the only position that would open the door to compromise from the IFP is “to throw away floor crossing legislation”.
The IFP is concerned about legislation which would allow politicians to cross the floor — scheduled to be put to the national parliament early this year. It has been the main subject of growing problems between the ANC and IFP.
Last year five defectors in the KwaZulu Natal legislature — including two from the IFP — almost succeeded in toppling the IFP led government, which includes the ANC, before courts ruled that they had lost their seats. This was after floor crossing at provincial and national level was declared unconstitutional on technical grounds and legislation is pending to correct that.
ANC leaders were, meanwhile, meeting in Johannesburg, including President Thabo Mbeki, to discuss the looming political — and possibly constitutional — crisis. One of the problems of calling an election is that there is no law to govern an election in a province.
The electoral law governing provincial and national elections expired in 1999. – I-Net Bridge