Former South African President Jacob Zuma announced on Sunday that his new political party, uMkhonto weSizwe (MK), would join an opposition alliance to challenge the government and contest the 2024 election results. Zuma, 82, believes the elections were fraudulent.
“The 2024 elections were rigged,” said MK spokesman Nhlamulo Ndhlela, reading a statement on behalf of Zuma. “We have instructed our legal team to take any steps possible both inside South Africa and internationally to ensure that justice is done.”
Ndhlela added, “At the right time we will call on our people to demonstrate their dissatisfaction against all these injustices peacefully, in the streets, in the court, and even in parliament until our grievances are addressed.”
The MK party plans to join a newly formed parliamentary group, the Progressive Caucus, which includes several leftist opposition parties. This group is currently led by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), a radical leftist party that won 39 seats in the new parliament.
During the announcement, Zuma sat quietly as his speech was read, occasionally answering questions from the press. The MK came third in the election, securing 14.6 percent of the vote and 58 parliamentary seats. On Friday, MK boycotted the first parliamentary session where Zuma’s political rival, Cyril Ramaphosa, was re-elected as president for a second term.
MK has launched a new court bid to dispute the election results, having already attempted to prevent the new parliament from convening and filed complaints about alleged election irregularities. Several other parties have also complained to the country’s electoral body and lodged legal complaints.
READ ALSO: Singer Abdulkareem Taunts Pastor Adeboye Over Refusal to Speak Against Tinubu’s Govt
Ramaphosa will be inaugurated on June 19 and will lead a government of national unity after the May elections resulted in no outright winner. This coalition includes the centre-right Democratic Alliance (DA), the Zulu nationalist Inkatha Freedom Party, and other smaller groups. The new coalition has faced criticism from opposition parties.
Ndhlela for MK denounced the coalition as a “white-led unholy alliance” that “must be crushed before it finds its feet.” He accused the African National Congress (ANC) of “going to bed with the racists.”
The EFF rejected the idea of collaborating with rivals holding radically different political views, such as the DA.
Zuma and Ramaphosa have been bitter rivals since Zuma was ousted by his own party, the ANC, under corruption allegations in 2018 and replaced by Ramaphosa.
Follow the Parallel Facts channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaCQSAoHgZWiDjR3Kn2E
