Four New National Party MPLs have crossed the floor to the African National Congress, giving the ANC an outright majority in the Western Cape legislature, while former Western Cape police commissioner and member of the Western Cape legislature Lennit Max has crossed the floor to the DA.
“After weeks of endless speculation on whether the ANC will get the clear majority in the Western Cape legislature or not, we are happy to inform the anxious public that, on the first day of the process [the floor-crossing period], the ANC has 23 seats secured,” ANC spokesperson Lionel Adendorf said on Thursday.
Addressing reporters in Cape Town, Adendorf said four New National Party members have formalised their commitment to the ANC.
They are Pierre Uys, Ellen Brits, Kobus Dowry and Joyce Witbooi.
He said all have been card-carrying members of the ANC for some time and part of the ANC process and discussions since the agreement between the ANC and the NNP in 2001. They have taken the natural step of moving from the NNP.
The NNP will disappear completely from the political scene after the upcoming municipal elections.
“Now that we have a clear majority in the provincial legislature, we hope that the day-dreaming and wishful thinking of the DA, through its provincial leader [Theuns Botha], will come to an end,” Adendorf said.
ANC provincial chairperson James Ngculu said the DA is going through a crisis.
“Their leader is not trusted by many people high up in the organisation and we have a number of them talking to us,” he said.
He said the ANC is an omnibus with people coming to it because they see it as an organisation of hope.
“And nobody leaves an organisation of hope to go to an organisation of doom,” Ngculu said.
The ANC said it “noted with disdain” the attempts made by political parties to intimidate their public representatives with expulsion and suspensions in order to cling to their seats.
The Independent Democrats, United Democratic Movement and Inkatha Freedom Party have been struck with acrimonious in-house battles fuelled by mistrust and rumours that members intended defecting to other parties during the floor-crossing period.
The derogatory term “crosstitution” has been used to describe the process — introduced by constitutional amendment — that allows politicians to move from one party to another without losing their seats.
Witbooi said she had decided to join the ANC long before any speculation about her move broke on the media.
“No, I was not promised any position. I did it because I wanted to,” she said.
The window period for legislators to cross the floor started at midnight on Wednesday night, and lasts for 15 days.
DA loses two seats to Louis Luyt
The DA has lost two seats out of 15 in the Gauteng legislature to its former ally Louis Luyt. The two that crossed the floor are Frederick Wolmarans and Cornelia Pluddeman.
This was confirmed by DA chief whip Douglas Gibson. Luyt’s Federal Alliance was once part of the DA.
It is not clear whether Themba Sono, the deputy leader of the Independent Democrats will cross — or challenge his suspension by the party. He is the party’s sole representative in the 73-seat legislature. Sono is a former DA member and it is understood that he has been wooed by many parties including the DA.
Gibson, who has been wooing potential floor-crossers from other parties, said: “Many voters have misgivings about floor crossing and the frantic court applications by the ID, the United Democratic Movement and others create an unedifying spectacle.
“The African National Congress is using floor-crossing to extend one-partyism whereas the Democratic Alliance will try to use it to promote multi party democracy by strengthening the opposition.
“The Democratic Alliance is not aware of any DA member of Parliament who wishes to leave the party and we expect to retain their support throughout the 15-day period. One MP from another party has already joined the DA and an announcement will be made in the next few days after he has informed his former
leader.
Lennit Max crosses to DA
Meanwhile, Max has crossed from Patricia de Lille’s Independent Democrats to the DA.
Max confirmed this over the telephone from a Cape Town hospital — he is suffering from a muscle-debilitating syndrome — and said: “I have crossed the floor already.”
He said the appropriate paperwork has been lodged with the provincial legislature speaker.
Max, who was once provincial leader of the ID, referred all queries to DA provincial leader Theuns Botha.
Botha told the Mail & Guardian Online that Max “indeed crossed the floor to the DA” early on Thursday morning.
“That is true. I have handed his forms in to the Supreme Court this morning,” he said.
Max has been the subject of a protracted disciplinary hearing by his party that started in February, during which he was represented by legal counsel Leon van Rensburg, who is a DA city councillor in Cape Town.
On Thursday, Van Rensburg indicated that he would not comment immediately about Max’s crossing, but said that he was urgently taking to court the “illegal” expulsion of six UDM members. He referred queries about Max to the man himself.
Meanwhile, the UDM six — including two national MPs and four members of provincial legislatures — were dismissed by the party’s national executive committee on Wednesday. Among them is Malizole Diko, the UDM deputy leader and long-time right-hand man of party leader Bantu Holomisa.
During the floor-crossing period, disciplinary action including suspension or expulsion is proscribed.
The expulsion just hours before the floor-crossing will, therefore, be the subject of much legal debate. In the Cape High Court, Max successfully overturned his expulsion by the ID on Wednesday morning. The ID unsuccessfully argued that Max was filibustering to keep his seat so that he could cross during the defection window.
ID leader Patricia de Lille was not available for comment immediately, but she did expect that Max would cross to the DA during the floor-crossing period. She spent much of her day in court on Wednesday.
Max’s defection will raise the number of DA seats in the Western Cape legislature to 13 in the 42-seat legislature.
Musa Zondi, the IFP’s secretary general, told the M&G Online: “There are no further developments as far as we know [with regards to floor-crossing].”
He could only confirm the sacking of MPL Jabulani Maphalala on Wednesday, saying it was on “allegations of his intention to cross the floor to another political party”.