Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu on Tuesday addressed fears that the governing African National Congress could become too strong in South Africa as the party heads for its third election victory.
Speaking on the eve of the vote, Tutu said South Africa’s political system has a number of safeguards to prevent a slide towards authoritarianism.
”If it were to be the case that the governing party oversteps the mark, we have the Constitutional Court, we have the human rights commission, we have the public protector, and I think that more than anything else, we also have a lively civic society,” he told SAFM radio.
”We certainly do have some remarkable institutions. Our constitution is held up for admiration by very many parts of the world as being a remarkable document,” he added.
Tutu, a key figure in the anti-apartheid struggle, came out in favour of a strong mandate for the ANC to give it a free hand to govern.
”For the sake of our democracy, the ANC should be able to get a majority that makes sure that they will not be hamstrung when they want to carry out any of their policies,” he said.
The ANC is on track to score a resounding victory in the elections, held as the country celebrates 10 years after the end of apartheid, possibly even clinching a two-thirds majority in parliament.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner slammed opposition parties as being ”negative” and apparently singled out the main opposition Democratic Alliance, which has claimed that President Thabo Mbeki was toying with the idea of amending the constitution to be able to serve out a third term.
”I must say that some of the opposition parties have been negative and one of them, I think, tends to be annoyingly arrogant,” he said. – Sapa-AFP