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As the 4th of November, the date of the 2026 local government elections draws closer, it is important, in fact a duty, that as the media industry, do our best to inform the electorate about what’s on the table to pick from.
As the 4th of November, the date of the 2026 local government elections draws closer, it is important, in fact a duty, that as the media industry, do our best to inform the electorate about what’s on the table to pick from.
During apartheid, when it was not fashionable to criticise authority, there weren’t many political parties. In fact only white political parties could operate with voters having a choice between the National Party ,the he architects of apartheid and the Conservative Party. There was also the Democratic Party which while firmly a part of the whites only political system, was a liberal movement that believed that some ‘better blacks’ should be afforded some rights and or exempted from certain laws. That’s how South Africa was for many years, 400 or so years inclusive of the colonial era.
However, this changed in 1994 when South Africa held its first democratic elections which saw a sudden surge of political parties some of them advocating around a single issue. It used to be funny to hear about the Kiss Party or Soccer Party for example.
However three decades into democracy the proliferation of political parties can no longer be regarded as funny but somewhat a threat to the stability of the country and the point will be amplified further below where we seek to single out genuine political parties worthy of a spot on the ballot paper and why the others don’t deserve the opportunity to contest an election.
On the campaign trail, almost all political parties preach accountability, that they want to remove the ANC and replace it with an ‘accountable’ government. Us in the media have, without questioning, platformed these parties over the years as they went criticising the ANC while falling-off along the way themselves.
As indicated, there’s just a handful of genuine political parties in South Africa, not more than a dozen if we were to generous. Below we deal with genuine political parties that are accountable and deserve to be on the ballot paper. Please note the order is with the most deserving party at the top.
Accountable Political Parties
ANC
DA
EFF
IFP
Freedom Front Plus
UDM
ACDP
PAC
The above political parties have got their affairs in order, of course none of them are perfect but certainly their existence is not suspect.
The ANC for example, has from many years ago held conferences including of an elective nature and continued with this practice even after democracy with leadership accounting to the membership including at branch level.
The DA has done so from its days in apartheid and carried on in democratic South Africa.
The EFF, a much younger political party, held its first elective conference a year about year or so after its formation and has never looked back.
Freedom Front Plus also has been consistent in the practice of internal democracy as has the IFP. Although the IFP has had one leader for most of its existence in the form of the late Mangosuthu Buthelezi, it did so through democratic processes.
The same has been the case with both the UDM and ACDP. While the PAC has experienced a lot of instability, it has managed to maintain functional internal democracy including holding elective conferences.
In an ideal world these should be the only political parties contesting elections as they are not just organised but also practice accountability while the rest of them are really just fiefdoms of their owners who have demonstrated that they can hire and fire at a whim.
Whether is Gayton McKenzie’s PA, Mmusi Maimane’s Bosa, Herman Mashaba’s ActionSA , Songezo Zibi’s Rise Mzansi and many others and there is many, they present a serious threat to the culture of accountability of that democratic South Africa sought to establish and even democracy itself.
Imagine a scenario in which Herman Mashaba is elected president of the republic and towards the end of his term of office, he decides the country has more pressing issues such as illegal immigration which he’s passionate about and therefore should be dealt with while elections are put on hold.
South Africans, whether in a local poll or a national election, deserve to chose between political parties that have got their affairs in order and not personal enterprises that can’t convene a gathering of 250 of their members yet wants an entire municipality which would require public consultations, something foreign to all these newer parties.
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