The Democratic Alliance announced on Thursday that it has signed up two small regional parties in Limpopo province for its coalition.
”I am very pleased to announce that today the DA has come together in a cooperation agreement with the Ximoko Party and the Dabalorivhuwa Patriotic Front [DPF], two parties that have a significant presence in Limpopo province,” DA leader Tony Leon said in a statement.
The coalition already includes the Inkatha Freedom Party.
”By signing this agreement, we are continuing to build a strong opposition and the core of an alternative government to the African National Congress. Both Ximoko and the DPF are eager to join the coalition for change, and we have begun the procedures to enable them to do so.”
Ximoko, headed by Alfred Madala Mabunda, has a strong rural base.
In the 1999 provincial elections it won 13 800 votes, and in the 2000 municipal elections it increased this to 25 500 votes.
The DPF, led by Tshifhiwa Samuel Mukhari, stands for the devolution of power and for the restoration of the rights of South Africa’s indigenous peoples.
In 1999 it won more than 8 000 votes at the provincial level, and it improved its total to nearly 15 000 in the 2000 municipal elections.
”Ximoko and the DPF stand firm with the DA in our belief that like-minded opposition parties must come together in order to roll back the dominance of the ANC,” Leon continued.
”Both parties also share our commitment to federalism, democracy and the rule of law. In terms of our agreement, Ximoko and DPF will openly support the DA in the upcoming national elections, and they will actively support the coalition for change. Their activists will train together with DA activists, their campaigners will work together with DA campaign staff, and their members will vote DA in the national elections,” Leon said.
Based on past results, Leon added that Ximoko and the DPF could produce more than 40 000 additional votes for the DA, ”enough to secure at least one additional seat in the National Assembly”.
At the same time, cooperation with the DA at the provincial level will help Ximoko and the DPF increase their strength in areas where they are competing directly with the ANC for support.
At the provincial level, Ximoko and the DPF will work together with the DA and they will caucus jointly with the DA as well. The parties will have separate candidate lists for the provincial elections and will be free to canvas in each others’ stronghold areas.
Similar arrangements will hold at the municipal level, with each local caucus free to decide on its own degree of cooperation, Leon said. — Sapa