Elections: MK Party has a better chance than newer parties – Analyst

Political analyst Professor Dirk Cotzé says newly established political parties could struggle to attract voters in the 4 November local government elections, with the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party having already established a support base.

Cotzé was speaking to Newzroom Afrika after political party leaders signed the Electoral Code of Conduct at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand on Wednesday, 23 September.

NEW PARTIES FACE CHALLENGE OF BUILDING TRUST

Cotzé said voters are likely to consider whether political parties have demonstrated that they can govern effectively when deciding who to support.

“If voters aren’t impressed by the party’s political, historical or ideological position, the question the electorate would ask themselves is, ‘Which political party can I vote for?’” he said.

Cotzé said new parties face the challenge of having little or no track record on which voters can base their decisions.

“That is to say, which party has shown already that they can do it and do it without corruption? I think that is the problem with new parties, they don’t have a track record,” he said.

‘MK PARTY HAS ALREADY ESTABLISHED ITSELF’

However, Cotzé identified the MK Party as an exception, saying it had already established itself following the 2024 general elections.

“What is interesting in other parts of the country with smaller towns is that there are many localised parties that are there only in that area. They’re well-known because they’ve been like the ratepayers association. So, they have their own reputation but unfortunately they don’t receive enough votes,” he said.

According to Cotzé, voters have a wide range of options but must ultimately decide which parties they trust.

“It’s not that there’s not enough options for the voters, there’s more than enough, but the question is, in terms of their own logic: who can they trust, who can they believe?”

The Jacob Zuma-led party emerged as the biggest party in KwaZulu-Natal in the 2024 provincial elections, securing 45.35% of the vote.

The party also became the third-largest party nationally in the 2024 general elections.