The ANC breakaway group will meet again on Tuesday to find a name to use for by-elections in December that would give it its first indication of its true support.
Spokesman Mbulelo Ncedana said that after discovering that their choice — the SA Democratic Congress — was already taken by another breakaway party, they would work on a name and the finalisation of their interim constitution so that they could register with the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).
Their initial choice – the SA National Convention – was contested in an urgent court application by the ANC for being too similar to its own acronym and brand.
“We will chart the way forward today,” said Ncedana after thousands of delegates supported the move for a new party, led for now by former defence minister and former ANC chairman Terror Lekota at the weekend. They have set December 16 as the launch date for the party but intend having their registration in place to challenge upcoming by-elections.
“We can’t wait for that,” said Ncedana, a former Cape Town councillor who was one of the ANC members who resigned in the aftermath of former president Thabo Mbeki’s own resignation.
He said the movement was ready to defend its repeated references to ANC Youth League president Julius Malema’s “kill for Zuma” comments, after the league laid a complaint over this with the SA Human Rights Commission on Monday.
Ncedana said the movement interpreted Malema’s subsequent comments that leaguers must make the movement’s members “run” when they make community visits as incitement to violence.
“Those words are inciting violence,” argued Ncedana.
“We are not going to run, we are South Africans, we fought for democracy.
“We are ready to defend our views,” said Ncedana.
Malema made the controversial statement at a youth day rally as an expression of support for ANC president Jacob Zuma during his corruption case before the charges were set aside.
In a letter to the ANC before he resigned, Lekota, who was once the party’s chairman, complained that: “Blatant threats to kill for certain individuals if desires other than their own are not satisfied are made with impunity.
“When democracy-supporting institutions intervene to stop such delinquent behaviour more of our leaders come out in loud support of threats to kill.”
The ANC believed Malema had been spoken to about the matter, and continued reference to the comment was “Malemaphobia”.
An IEC spokesperson was not immediately available to confirm or provide details of the December 10 by-election that Ncedana referred to.
