The Democratic Alliance (DA) has written to the United States of America’s Secretary of State, Antony Blinken and the European Union (EU) for aid in “helping to shape the integrity of the upcoming elections”.
The letter, written by the DA’s Shadow Minister for International Relations and Cooperation, Emma Powell, calls on the US and some EU countries for support in observing the upcoming national elections on 29 May 2024, voter education and establishing a parallel vote tabulation (PVT) system. The DA believes that the plummeting (according to polls) support for the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and the rapid rise of Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto We Sizwe party (MK) pose a significant threat to democracy and the rule of law. “We are of the view that MK poses a substantive risk to the continued peaceful nature of our political discourse as a nation,” said the letter.
The letter has angered many South Africans, including President Cyril Ramaphosa. At an ANC election campaign in Ekurhuleni this past Saturday, Ramaphosa accused the DA of “mortgaging our democracy” and called the letter “disingenuous”
Veteran journalist Redi Tlhabi, in a series of tweets, questioned whether the USA was the best ally to turn to for ensuring free and fair elections. “You wrote to the Sec of State of a country that has numerous cases of voter suppression CURRENTLY before courts? Where some states are being challenged for enacting laws that restrict voting, especially for the poor?” Tlhabi asked Powell and DA leader John Steenhuisen. She accused them of lying and playing “dirty populist politics.”
The USA, in recent years, hasn’t been the best example of free and fair elections, with allegations that Russia interfered with the 2016 election to sabotage then-democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton. Then there was the infamous 6 January 2021, attack on the Capitol Buildings, where supporters of former US President Donald Trump stormed the buildings where a joint congress was meeting to finalise the electoral college vote because they believed that the 2020 election results were rigged after Trump lost to Democrat candidate Joe Biden.
While South Africa has always had free and fair elections, recent comments by Zuma’s MK Party might have many siding with the DA. Religious and traditional leaders aligned with the party have previously threatened to “Shut South Africa down for good” should Zuma and the MK Party not achieve a two-thirds majority.
