COALITION TALKS | Deputy President Paul Mashatile and Western Cape Premier Alan Winde attend a coalition meeting at the University of the Western Cape in August 2023.
Coalition negotiations will come down to a choice between democracy and kleptocracy. of News24 Editor write.
The election results on 29 May 2024 present South Africa's political parties with a historic challenge: will they form a coalition government to protect and strengthen our constitutional democracy, or is this the start of a slide into populist kleptocracy?
With populists such as the MK Party, EFF and PA gaining power and fully infiltrating our political system, these are the only realistic options for parties such as the ANC, DA and IFP that claim to place the Constitution at the heart of their existence.
Combined, the MKP, EFF and PA are expected to win around 25 percent of the national vote — a dangerously high percentage for a party that vows to abolish or fundamentally weaken the constitution.
Read | David Everatt: Out with the old, in with the new: the ANC lost this election
Jacob Zuma orchestrated the largest state takeover plan in the history of South Africa's democratic process. As leader of the ANC, he oversaw the destruction of democratic institutions such as the National Security Agency, the National Prosecuting Authority and the hawkish government.
His son and his friends the Guptas bought up state-owned companies such as Eskom, Transnet and Denel and turned them into their own piggy banks.
But more than a million people who voted for MK want Zuma back as president, because they believe life was better under him and are completely ignoring the damage his nine years in power have done.
He and his supporters are using lies, fabrications and social media to spread illusions about life under Zuma. They are knocking on the doors of the Union Buildings.
Duduzile Zuma Sambudla, a vocal supporter of the violent riots that took place in KwaZulu-Natal in July 2021, is due to be sworn in as an MKP member of parliament sometime in June.
The time for jokes is over. The Patriotic Union, which advocates the reinstatement of the death penalty and is led by two former bank robbers, will hold several seats in parliament from June onwards.
Read | Election News | Mandela's ANC loses majority, heralding radical political change
Now is the time for democrats to come together and set aside political differences to choose South Africa's future — the alternative is a terrifying slide into populist kleptocracy that could reduce the country to ashes.
The ANC, with its proud history of human rights and non-racial discrimination, was at the heart of the national takeover plot. President Cyril Ramaphosa has begun purging corrupt politicians like Ace Magashule from the party, but many more corrupt figures remain in cabinet and government.
President Ramaphosa can use this opportunity to accelerate his reform plans and replace those implicated in state takeover and corruption with his coalition partners.
For those in the ANC who are aligned with Zuma and his kleptocratic agenda, this is the perfect opportunity to break away. The future of the country hangs in the balance.
