With KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) emerging to be the battleground ahead of the May 29 national and provincial elections, a recent poll by Social Research Foundation, has found that ANC support in the province could be cut in half.
A number of political parties, including the governing ANC, the EFF and recently the IFP chose to hold their manifesto launches in KZN, making the province much sought-after by the parties.
KZN is a stronghold of the IFP, but the ANC has always maintained its rule of the province since the first democratic elections in 1994.
However, with the emergence of the new uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK), analysts believe ANC control over the province could be over.
Former president Jacob Zuma, who is from the province and enjoys massive support in KZN, is the face of the MK party.
On December 16 last year, Zuma announced that he would be campaigning for the party.
Nelson Mandela University Centre for Advancement of Non-Racialism and Democracy director, Professor Bheki Mngomezulu, said the establishment of the party posed a threat to the ANC.
He was speaking on a prime time television show recently, saying that the ANC and other parties should take note of the new party.
“I have heard people saying that the MK party does not pose a threat to anyone. The DA, for example, will say that it's assisting them by reducing the support of the ANC … and the ANC saying that it is not threatened … that, in my view, amounts to being naive.
“The reality of the matter is, when Zuma assumed leadership of the ANC, you saw a significant increase in the membership of the ANC and support of the ANC.
“Similarly, right now that he's supporting MK, look at the number of people who are aligning themselves with this new party. The only thing that might stand in the way is the court case that is currently under way. But the reality is that it poses a threat to the ANC on a number of fronts.
“One, it found the ANC already dealing with factional politics and two, it found the ANC failed to deliver the new dawn that was promised by the president (Cyril Ramaphosa).
“Of course, the president and those who support him will tell you that there were a number of other external forces that came in; they will cite Covid-19; they will cite the war in Ukraine.
“They will cite the word Palestine but even if you take those points out of the equation, the reality of the matter is that things have not gone the way the president has promised the nation.
“Therefore, on those grounds identified, the MK comes into the picture and it finds a weak ANC and it is capitalising on that,” Mngomezulu said.
The two parties are at loggerheads over the name and logo of the MK Party, with the ANC arguing that it is similar to the logo of the uMkhonto weSizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA).
The matter is currently in court and has been postponed to March 27.
In a recent Brenthurst Foundation poll, conducted in February, the MK party was polled at 25% and the ANC at 20%. The IFP and DA are sitting at 19% each and the EFF is at 14%.
Nationally, the survey found that the ANC’s support has taken a dive to 39%, paving the way for a coalition government after the elections.
The MK Party received 13% of the vote while the DA raised their numbers to 27% and the EFF fell to 10%.
In Gauteng, the survey found that the Multiparty Charter will get 38% and the ANC will slip below it at 34%.
The DA will get 32%, with the EFF and MK party getting 11% and 6%, respectively.
The survey was conducted by a telephonic survey of registered voters between February 12 and 28.
The survey also found that more than three-quarters of those who participated would be happy to see a coalition govern South Africa.
The Star