One of South Africa’s newest political parties, Rise Mzansi, has captured a great deal of attention in the media, both locally and internationally with its refreshing policies of integrity and justice.
Although it has not thus far enjoyed the same kind of meteoric rise in voter support as other newcomers such as Jacob Zuma’s MK Party, Rise Mzansi’s leaders say they are focused on the 2029 election as the party’s “big goal”.
On Friday mid-morning, with roughly 56% of the national vote counted, Rise Mzansi had garnered just 0.4% of the national vote, but had a stronger showing of 1.03% in Gauteng.
Rise Mzansi’s Gauteng provincial convenor, Tebogo Moalusi, explained that the party was aiming to redefine the way South Africans understand politics and that it was already looking ahead to the second half of the decade.
“We want to make sure that going forward, this is just the beginning. We have by-elections that will be coming, we’ve got the local government elections in 2026, and 2029 has always been one of our big goals,” Moalusi said.
“While we must make sure that right now, in this moment, we celebrate the victory of a great election campaign, we must get ready for getting our house in order for 2026 and 2029,” Moalusi added.
Rise Mzansi’s Michael Shackleton, who is the party’s regional chairperson for the Tshwane area, said Rise Mzansi was playing a long game.
“We will contest the 2026 local government election and the 2029 national elections, but this was to announce to the people of the country that we are Rise Mzansi and we are here to stay.
“Every vote that we have on that board is a vote we didn’t have before, every vote represents growth for Rise Mzansi.”
Regarding coalition politics, Shackleton told IOL that Rise Mzansi would be willing to work with any party that aligned with its principles, but expressed concern that the country’s Multi-Party Charter could effectively hand the province back to the ANC if they stick to their guns by only working with parties within their charter.
IOL