Former South African President Jacob Zuma condemned the ANC. He pledged to vote for a new party

[ad_1]

JOHANNESBURG (AP) – Former President jacob juma condemned the regime on Saturday African National Congress Party and announced that he would vote for the newly formed political formation in next year’s South African general election.

Zuma, who was president of the ANC from 2007 to 2017, said he was supporting the newly formed Umkhonto we Sizwe party, named after the now-defunct military wing of the ANC, which was disbanded after the liberation war. Was done.

Zuma called on other South Africans to vote for the new formation, saying that it would be a betrayal of the president to “vote for the ANC”. Cyril Ramaphosa,

The country’s general election in 2024 is expected to be highly contested as the ruling ANC, which has ruled the country since Nelson Mandela Becoming South Africa’s first democratically elected leader in 1994, he faced myriad challenges.

Recent polls have shown that the ANC may gain less than 50% of the national vote in next year’s election for the first time and may need to form a coalition government to remain in power.

political cartoon

Briefing reporters in Johannesburg’s Soweto township on Saturday, Zuma described the ANC and Ramaphosa as “proxies for white monopoly capital” and described his decision as part of saving the ANC.

“I have decided that I cannot and will not campaign for Ramaphosa’s ANC in 2024. My conscience will not allow me to lie to the people of South Africa and pretend that Ramaphosa’s ANC is not Luthuli, Tambo and Mandela That’s the ANC.” ,” Zuma said, referring to previous ANC leaders.

Zuma was removed as president of the country by Ramaphosa in 2018 amid widespread allegations of corruption in the government and state-owned companies during his presidency from 2009 to 2018.

Zuma has been facing a legal battle since stepping down from the country’s highest post.

For this he was sentenced to 15 months in jail disobeying court order To appear before the Judicial Inquiry Commission, which was investigating corruption allegations against him and other high-profile politicians and businessmen during his tenure.

He has also pleaded not guilty to corruption charges related to South Africa’s 1999 arms purchase deal in a trial that has faced major delays.

The ANC is expected to face stiff competition from opposition parties the Democratic Alliance and the Economic Freedom Fighters, but smaller parties and independent candidates could be key in coalition talks.

The ANC indicated this week that they would legally challenge the use of the name Umkhonto we Sizwe by the new political formation because the name belongs to the party.

Copyright 2023 The associated Press, All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

[ad_2]

Source link

Leave a Comment