MK Party Softens Stance on 2024 Elections

The MK Party has appeared to shift its stance on the 2024 national and provincial elections, acknowledging that allegations of vote manipulation against the Electoral Commission of South Africa were not supported by evidence. This change follows a legal dispute between the IEC and the party over statements by its first deputy president, Duduzane Zuma, and Youth League president Qiniso Cibane at a public gathering in Umlazi on October 25.

The IEC had approached the Durban High Court over their allegations of manipulation, but the MK Party national spokesperson Sifiso Mahlangu said the party and the IEC had agreed to withdraw the court application and the opposition to it, ending the dispute. While maintaining that it remained aggrieved by certain aspects of the 2024 elections, the party said it respected the outcomes of the court processes that had cleared the commission.

The MK Party, which emerged from the 2024 elections as the country’s third-largest with 14,58% of the national vote and the biggest in KwaZulu-Natal, had previously questioned the credibility of the electoral process, citing alleged irregularities. Mahlangu said Cibane had been counselled internally to exercise greater caution in future public engagements and had accepted the advice.

The party’s change of tone comes as it faces crucial coalition negotiations in KwaZulu-Natal. It emerged as the province’s biggest party in last week’s local government elections with about 34% of the provincial vote, but must find coalition partners in municipalities where it failed to win outright majorities. Of the province’s 44 municipalities, 34 produced hung councils, with the MK Party leading in several, including eThekwini and Msunduzi.

The party has appointed a coalition negotiating team led by Duduzane Zuma, with advocate Dali Mpofu among those tasked with engaging potential partners. The team said negotiations would be guided by political alignment, governance capacity, financial sustainability and prospective partners’ ability to honour coalition commitments.

The party must also persuade parties that previously worked together to keep it out of government to join municipal coalitions with it. The DA has already said it will not enter a coalition with the MK Party, while other parties are considering their options.

The MK Party has nevertheless expressed confidence that it can secure coalition agreements, saying its electoral performance gives it a strong mandate to help govern municipalities across the province. The party will need to secure these agreements to effectively govern in municipalities where it did not win outright majorities.

Key points

• MK Party shifts stance on 2024 elections after court ruling clears Electoral Commission of South Africa of vote manipulation allegations
• Party faces crucial coalition negotiations in KwaZulu-Natal after emerging as province’s biggest party with 34% of the provincial vote
• MK Party’s coalition negotiating team will be led by Duduzane Zuma and guided by political alignment, governance capacity, and financial sustainability