Political analyst Professor Bheki Mgomezulu says former president Jacob Zuma remains the Umkhonto Wisizwe (MK) party's biggest attraction.
The party is celebrating its first anniversary today at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.
In the May general election, it secured the highest number of votes in less than half a year.
Mgomezulu says there are pros and cons to Zuma's grip on the electorate, as Prime Minister Theresa May's results showed.
“The party is growing under his leadership, so that's a good thing. Now, if he were to step off the stage in any capacity, we look at what happened with the NFP and what we will do to it. Can we answer that – will they be strong enough to stand firm or will they fall apart? So what? I mean, it's built around individuals, not necessarily groups. That's the problem with having a political party.”
Meanwhile, Mgomezulu said despite the party's decision to expel Zuma, Zuma's issues with the African National Congress remain unresolved.
“It is true that former President Zuma has unresolved issues with the ANC, and it is understandable that former President Zuma feels that the ANC has failed to defend him, and in reality Former President Hasuma has unresolved business with the ANC. He formed the MK party not to fight the ANC, but to fight Ramaphosa. Because he realized that he couldn't win by using the state apparatus – let's form a party that would reduce the ANC's majority, then let's bring them to the table, let's have a discussion, and get rid of Ramaphosa. But of course that didn't work, so we formed a multiparty coalition.”
Video | Professor Bheki Mgomezulu says of MKP:
