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Sunday Times,
South Africa
Summary: Conflict between
political parties in the KwaZulu-Natal region of South Africa.
Although the African National Congress party has a strong majority
nationwide, the Inkatha Freedom Party leads the regional government
in KwaZulu-Natal, and they have decided to call for early elections
there, drawing criticism from the ANC. ’ÄúFloor-crossing,’Äù as used in
the article, refers to a Member of Parliament voting differently
from the rest of their party.
http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/zones/sundaytimes/newsst/newsst1041849789.asp
Sunday Times, South Africa
ANC lashes out at IFP/DA on KZN poll
By Donwald Pressly The African National Congress (ANC) today
accused the Democratic Alliance (DA) and Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP)
of trying to re-impose a bantustan - an apartheid homeland - in
KwaZulu-Natal by forcing an early election in the province. In a
debate on SABC radio this morning, former KZN housing minister
Dumisani Makhaye said any attempt to re-impose the apartheid
structure "will be resisted" by the ANC as it was the ruling party
nationally and it viewed the dissolution of the legislature as
precipitating ungovernability of the province. His remarks followed
last week's announcement by KwaZulu-Natal premier Lionel Mtshali
that a special sitting of the legislature would be held on Wednesday
to dissolve the legislature and force an election. The IFP has
argued that the step - which has the backing of the DA - was
necessary as various attempts were being made to oust the IFP-led
government through legislative changes allowing floor-crossing by
MPs. Legislation is expected in the national parliament this year
to allow floor-crossing at national and provincial level. IFP MP
Blessed Gwala said, however, that the proposed dissolution was in
response to the ANC's meddling in the electoral mandate given to the
IFP in the province. "The ANC is bent on destroying and undermining
the IFP leadership by setting political traps such as floor-crossing
legislation," Gwala said. But Makhaye, who was recently axed by
Mtshali and replaced by a DA legislature member as minister, argued
that 90% of parties had supported defection legislation - which
almost toppled the IFP provincial government last year. The DA
backed the legislation and the IFP had accepted defectors at local
government level. Farouk Cassim, an IFP MP, said the heart of the
matter was the destruction of the proportional representation
system. He called on the ANC to allow the province to be run
according to the dictates of the electorate. Meanwhile,
presidential spokesman Bheki Khumalo said ANC leaders - led by
President Thabo Mbeki - would be meeting in Johannesburg today to
discuss the KwaZulu-Natal issue. He said that there was a hope that
there would be no elections. He said there was, however, no
intention to invoke a provision of the constitution, which could
allow national government to assume responsibility for governing the
province. At present the IFP-led government includes two ANC
ministers and two DA ministers. The current government can continue
to hold office until an election is held within 90 days of a
dissolution of the provincial legislature, a step which is expected
to be taken on Wednesday by the joint DA/IFP majority. |
