afrol News, 1 September - Today, the fate of South Africa's 90-year-old New National Party (NNP) is sealed as a legal time-limited window for floor-crossing of MPs is opened. Most NNP members will go to the ruling ANC, giving it control of all the country's nine provinces. Some, however, are crossing to the Democratic Alliance (DA), which now emerges South Africa's only nationwide opposition party.

According to South African legislation, elected MPs cannot cross over from one party to another one between elections. The exception is a two-week-long "floor-crossing period", starting today, where representatives may leave their parties on the basis of principle, if they hold that their party abandoned their mandate to the voters. This year's "floor-crossing window" however represents massive movements, including the end of the NNP at provincial levels.

The NNP leadership has urged MPs and members to cross over to the ruling African National Congress (ANC) in a move to merge the two ancient foes. Ninety years after the establishment of the National Party (NP), many South Africans see this historic merger as an event that finally may bury the apartheid legacy. The NP was the architect behind the racist apartheid ideology in the 1940s. During the last ten years, the white-dominated party has distanced itself from racism and is politically close to the ANC.

NNP representative Carol Johnson thus celebrates the recent adoption of the ANC's anti-racist 'Freedom Charter' by her party as "one of the most important milestones in our quest to build a truly non-racial South Africa." NNP leader Marthinus van Schalkwyk, who also is South Africa's Environment and Tourism Minister, thus has initiated a process where the NNP will become one of the sub-parties that constitute the ANC.

Mr van Schalkwyk's call to NNP MPs and party members to join the ANC during the opened "floor-crossing window" reportedly is successful. According to ANC spokesman David Molemolla Makhura in Gauteng Province, NNP members are now crossing over to the ruling party in great numbers in the provinces and in municipal councils. "This move is a clear contribution to the nation building process and the creation of a truly non racial society," said Mr Makhura today.

In particular in Western Cape Province, the ANC has reasons to celebrate. Here, for the first time ever, the party is set to gain the majority of MPs as around 30 NNP councils are believed to be crossing over to the ANC. An additional 20 would have been enough to have the majority in the province. Thus, the ANC holds the majority in all of South Africa's nine provinces.

According to the last remaining nation-wide large opposition party, the DA, these developments are far from positive for the state of democracy in South Africa. DA leader Tony Leon - who earlier cooperated with the NNP to form South Africa's "official opposition" - the party merger is making the country head towards a on-party-state. To avoid this, people of cause needed to vote for his conservative party.

Many NNP members and MPs agree with Mr Leon. Regarding economic politics, the NNP will form the right wing of the ANC, while being only slightly less conservative than the DA. For the many South African voters that align with a race-based identity - while racism is outlawed, social differences based on race groups have not decreased - NNP members are closer to the DA membership.

Therefore, a significant group of NNP councils have switched to the DA. Mr Leon welcomed the first group of NNP councillors who have joined the DA today, saying they would "strengthen the DA as the only national alternative in South African politics, and a home for all South Africans."

Mr Leon further condemned the NNP's "dishonourable capitulation to the ANC," claiming the NNP leadership had "buried their party in exchange for a few crumbs." DA spokeswoman Helen Zille added that the NNP had betrayed the mandate from its voters to form an opposition "for the sake of perks and positions."

- The floor-crossing period has become a cynical farce, Ms Zille claimed, adding that the DA deplored "the offers of positions and incentives from parties that can create posts at will, with taxpayers’ money, for their political advantage." Those joining the DA, she said, had not been offered any compensation.

Also the DA spokeswomen complained that the NNP had "helped to take South Africa considerably further down the road to a one-party state" because the party now holds power in all provinces. Observers however hold that the DA will, on the long run, gain from being the only nationwide opposition party. South Africa, most likely, is heading towards a two-party state.

By staff writers

© afrol News

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