Cape Town - After threatening to derail the first sitting of the 7th Parliament through a court interdict and indicating that it would boycott the meeting, the uMkhonto weSizwe Party’s (MKP) 58 MPs had their flights to, and accommodation in, Cape Town cancelled.
Parliament will meet on Friday to elect a Speaker, president and deputy president more than two weeks since a historic election in which the ANC lost its absolute majority for the first time in 30 years.
But MKP founder Jabulani Khumalo, who is embroiled in a high court tussle over the leadership of the party, on Monday indicated that he would attend the first sitting and be sworn in as an MP as his name appears on the list of the party’s representatives.
The MKP’s faction, aligned to Jacob Zuma, had objected to the election results, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal, where the party won 45% of the vote.
The party has accused the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) of corruption, demanding a rerun of the polls.
In KZN it is believed that the ANC will cobble together a grand coalition with the DA along with other smaller parties to form a coalition to block the MKP from the reins of power.
Before the May 29 elections, the MKP was confident that it would win a two-thirds majority of votes; however, the party fell short of its ambition, coming in only in third place with 14.58% of the votes.
Parliament said it had taken note of the letter from the MKP informing the institution of its intention to challenge the validity of the election results as declared by the IEC.
“The party has also indicated that its 58 elected members, who are expected to occupy seats in the National Assembly, will boycott and not attend the first sitting. The MK Party is protesting the scheduling of the first sitting of the National Assembly, claiming it would not be constitutional.”
Parliament spokesperson Moloto Mothapo said the institution does not agree with the MKP’s interpretation of section 46 of the Constitution.
“Parliament is of the view that it is legally bound to facilitate the first sitting of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces at a date and time determined by the Chief Justice, and there are no legal impediments preventing this process,” said Mothapo.
He said that according to section 49(3) of the Constitution, unless and until the results of the election are set aside by a court, Parliament must ensure that the sittings proceed as directed.
Because the first sittings of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces will take place physically, the parliamentary administration is in the process of making arrangements to provide travel and accommodation for all members listed by the IEC, as handed over by the Chief Justice, to attend these sittings and the associated onboarding activities scheduled in Cape Town.
“In light of the MK Party’s expressed decision, through their legal representatives, not to attend the first sitting, Parliament has cancelled all arrangements for accommodation and flights for the party’s elected members. This measure is to avoid incurring fruitless and wasteful expenditure in compliance with the Financial Management of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act, 2009.”
Political analyst Siyabonga Ntombela, from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, said the move by the MKP is an indication that coalition talks between the ANC and MKP failed before they could start.
“The condition put forward by the MK Party that they cannot be part of a coalition if Cyril Ramaphosa is still president of the ANC negates every possibility of a coalition. It is for this reason that the ANC took the decision to opt for the Government of National Unity (GNU).
“A new party with only 15% of votes will not halt the formation of a government. The numbers are against the MK, and since Parliament has cancelled the travel plans, that proves that a government will be formed with or without the MKP,” said Ntombela.
He said: “What the MK Party is doing by not recognising the government of national unity is that it is de-legitimising the composition and standing status of the entire government (meaning, including the other parties) and not just the ANC. One party cannot succeed against the entire group of parties and the state institutions.”
It remains unclear as to which party the ANC will form a coalition government with, as the DA said it would not work with the ANC if it included the EFF in the GNU, and equally, the EFF has rejected a coalition government with the DA.
In a statement on Monday, the PAC said, in principle, it agreed on the formation of a GNU, but the details had to be established before Friday’s first sitting of Parliament.
The PAC said these details “will cover the structure, roles and responsibilities within the GNU”.