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- When Herman Mashaba launched his new political party, DA interim leader John Steenhuisen attacked divided political parties.
- Steenhuisen maintains that they strengthen the ANC.
- Mashaba left the DA in dramatic fashion following the party’s soul battle in 2019.
When Herman Mashaba launched his new party, Action SA, on Saturday, interim DA leader John Steenhuisen lashed out at splinter parties, which he says end up strengthening the ANC.
Speaking at the DA Eastern Cape conference, Steenhuisen said that smaller parties end up taking some votes away from the DA.
Read | Ignored Tshwane mayoral candidate jumps DA ship joins Mashaba
“Every time a voter does this, the net result is the strengthening of the ANC. We have been through this scenario so many times. As soon as the elections are over, voters who tested the waters with one of these new startups find out that they did not get any benefit for their money from a one-man party with a regional footprint, and they return to the Prosecutor’s Office. But by then the damage is done for the next five years, “he added.
To weaken and push the ANC below 50% and relegate the ruling party to opposition seats, Steenhuisen said voters must realize they have to vote against the ANC by replacing it with the DA.
He said:
“We must argue that our only hope for ending corruption and effecting change is for voters to rally behind the strongest opposition party, rather than split the vote. And especially if that split vote is going to a breakup of the DA. , with people who are simply taking AD ideologies and plans to another platform. ”
He added that these parties could not make changes because they were too small.
The district attorney held his first virtual elective conference in the Eastern Cape, where Nqaba Bhanga ran unopposed. The virtual conference will be the pilot of the party congress that will take place in the same way later this year.
Bhanga, who will take the reins as the province’s leader for a second term, has backed Steenhuisen in his campaign for party leader.
Read also | Mashaba Throws New Political Party Strings At Former ANC Leaders
In his speech, Bhanga said that the Prosecutor’s Office had to go through its processes to streamline, transform and adapt after the 2019 elections.
The party suffered a devastating defeat in last year’s elections. Shortly after the 2019 elections it fell to 20.77%, the first drop since it was established. This led to factional battles that ultimately resulted in the resignation of party leader Mmusi Maimane and Mashaba as mayor of Johannesburg.
In her resignation speech, Mashaba said that she no longer believed that the district attorney was a vehicle for change, adding that she could not ignore the prosecutor’s internal dynamics and “continued attempts to undermine [his] pro-poor attempts in Johannesburg “.
