The Congress of the People (Cope) submitted an application to be registered as a political party on Friday, its spokesperson said.
”Yes, it has been registered,” said Mbulelo Ncedana.
Cope’s logo is ”round with an ‘X’ inside. It reflects togetherness, the bond. You will see the colours of the South African flag in there,” said Ncedana.
The ruling African National Congress (ANC) has indicated that it will take legal action against the name.
The ANC national working committee said in a statement earlier this week that it needed to protect its heritage.
The statement said the Congress of the People in 1955 was ”where the Freedom Charter was adopted after ANC volunteers — together with volunteers from the South African Indian Congress, the Congress of Democrats and the Coloured Peoples Congress — had collected and collated the views of thousands of South Africans.”
But Ncedana said that did not put the new party off.
”We are going to fight it … They [the ANC] have no monopoly over ‘congress’ or ‘people’.”
An IEC official confirmed that Cope had submitted its application for registration. — Sapa