COPE will never support war talk

25 April 2016  

Congress of the People will never support war talk from any quarters whatsoever. Whatever the ANC does to damage the freeness and fairness of election results, and it will do a great deal to hang on to power whichever way it can, we must all desist from war talk or taking law into our own hands.

When Nelson Mandela was president, almost no one wanted him gone from office. With Jacob Zuma more and more South Africans want him and the ANC which is packed with his sycophants to go. The Nelson Mandela dividend has been eroded.  The written reprimand that Zuma was supposed to have delivered to three ministers, implicated in the reprehensible Nkandla saga, has been neither a rebuke nor a chastisement in keeping with the Public Protector's report or the Constitutional Court Judgment. It is an empty gesture devoid of any serious intent. Zuma is once again showing the ConCourt and all of us the middle finger.

Zuma and the ANC have eroded trust in the executive as well as in parliament. They have also eroded trust in important institutions of state. The reputation of the once highly respected IEC is now tarnished. Will the IEC deliver a free, fair and credible election especially in the metros of Nelson Mandela Bay, Joburg and Tshwane? That is the trillion rand question.

COPE calls for neutral international monitors to observe the local government elections in these three metros. The conduct of the IEC has to be beyond reproach. No excuse for violence either from the side of the ruling party or any other party should arise. COPE also suggests that opposition parties engage investigators and lawyers to keep a sharp lookout for illegal conduct and to be ready to go to court to challenge any illegality. The high courts in all three cities should be ready to sit if urgently required to do so on voting day.

Every opposition party has every right to demand a totally honest and fair outcome with no shenanigans whatsoever to favour the ruling party. If the ruling party loses, it must prevent violence. No party in South Africa should resort to violence.

 South Africa is a constitutional democracy with democratic institutions in place which can be approached by any party that is aggrieved by the conduct of the IEC or the ANC.  

We must all remember that section 12(c) of our Constitution makes it very clear that "everyone has the right to freedom and security of the person, which includes the right to be free from all forms of violence from either public or private sources". All parties should desist from fomenting violence or permitting violence to occur.

Issued by Dennis Bloem, COPE Spokesperson, 25 April 2016