United Democratic Movement (UDM) leader Bantu Holomisa suspended six members of Parliament and provincial legislatures because they questioned him about a local government election pact he had apparently entered into with the African National Congress, according to his deputy.
UDM deputy president Malizole Diko told the Mail & Guardian that the allegation that he and five others were suspended because they planned to cross the floor to other parties was a smokescreen for more serious battles within the party.
Holomisa asked the six public representatives to resign from the party until after the floor-crossing period, so that they could demonstrate they did not intend to defect from the party.
They refused to quit, prompting Holomisa to suspend them. They have now taken the decision on review to the Cape High Court, hoping it will be reversed.
The divisions in the UDM have opened the possibility of a split once the floor-crossing period is over. The defection window, at the beginning of next month, has caused serious tensions within the smaller parties, who are worried that members may be lured by ANC promises of government jobs.
The Inkatha Freedom Party is also assessing members to sniff out possible defectors and deal with them in advance.
However, Diko said none of the six had any intention of defecting to other parties.
“Defection is not in our minds. This is about internal party squabbles,” he said. “Holomisa feels we are too vocal within the party. He wants to purge anyone with a profile.”
Diko said tensions were sparked when they heard from ANC members that the UDM was not planning to contest the local government elections. The suspicion was that Holomisa wanted to wind up the UDM and return to the ANC, from which he was expelled in 1996.
Later, he said, Holomisa had, at a national executive committee meeting, proposed abstaining from the elections.
“The fact that we first heard from the ANC people suggests a deal had already been cut. But we challenged him, asking: ‘How do you justify your existence as a party if you do not contest elections?’”
Diko denied that there was a national executive council resolution that anyone suspected of defecting would resign and be reinstated after the floor-crossing period ends on September 16. He said the suspected defectors had also asked Holomisa to resign to demonstrate his sincerity.
“We asked him what guarantee did we have that he was not going to resign? We said: ‘Let everyone resign’ — but he declined.”
Diko said other members feared Holomisa was no longer committed to the UDM and might be thinking of rejoining the ANC.
Holomisa this week said he would not comment because the matter was now before the courts.
Professor Nico Steytler, director of the Community Law Centre at the University of the Western Cape, said this week that the 10% party membership threshold necessary for party floor-crossing was not serving its intended purpose in South Africa.
The aim of the provision was to prevent opportunistic defections by individuals seeking to advance their political careers.
Steytler pointed out that, in reality, some parties in South Africa were so small that one or two members constituted 10% of their public representatives.
He suggested that South Africa could consider the Indian model, where defectors were barred from receiving improved positions from their new party for a minimum number of years.