South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) has now officially beaten the Democratic Alliance (DA) in raiding the smaller parties during the two-week defection period allowing politicians to cross the floor. The defection period ends on Friday.
The ANC has gained nine members of the United Democratic Movement (UDM) — reducing its National Assembly caucus to just four, after a further UDM MP, Nelson Ramodike, started his own party — the Alliance for Democracy and Prosperity.
It amounts to a virtual wipeout of former Transkei dictator General Bantu Holomisa’s UDM — billed as a rainbow, non-racial party when it was founded in 1997 — with even its deputy leader, Gerhard Koornhof, joining the ANC.
Overall the UDM has lost 10 MPs but gained one member in the Eastern Cape legislature from the New National Party (NNP) — and lost one in the Western Cape legislature to the ANC.
In addition the ANC has gained Professor Gabriel Ndabandaba, an Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) provincial MP in KwaZulu-Natal and Omie Singh, a provincial Democratic Party (DA) MP. Ndabandaba was provincial education minister.
The ANC also gained three NNP members in the Western Cape legislature — taking its total of gains in the legislatures and in Parliament to 15.
The DA has gained nine NNP MPs in the National Assembly and three from that party in the Western Cape legislature. It has lost one member each in the Gauteng (to the Independent Democrats) and Western Cape legislatures (to the African Christian Democratic Party) as well. This takes its gains to 12 and its losses to three — a net gain of 9.
Patricia de Lille’s new party, the Independent Democrats, has gained its first representative in the Gauteng legislature — former DA member Themba Sono. She now leads a party with two representatives (one national parliament and one provincial) — as big as her previous party the Pan Africanist Congress (which now has two parliamentarians).
The NNP has lost the most members so far followed closely by the UDM — with further losses expected in its powerbase of the Eastern Cape, where it is official opposition.
The scorecard for gains and losses is: ANC 15, DA 9, NNP -17, UDM -9, Pan Africanist Congress -1 and Afrikaner Eenheisbegewing -1.
Other parties which have gained seats are: National Action (1), Alliance for Democracy and Prosperity (1) and African Christian Democratic Party (1).
Former Western Cape premier Peter Marais is expected to start the New Labour Party which will have one seat from the NNP.
This would take the NNP’s tally of losses to 18. – I-Net Bridge