The electorate will not trust politicians until floor-crossing legislation has been scrapped, Freedom Front Plus spokesperson Corne Mulder said on Monday.
The current floor-crossing window - which opened on Saturday and closes on September 15 - should be the last in South Africa's political dispensation, he said in a statement.
"The practice of elected representatives crossing over to other political parties is not only unreasonable to the ordinary electorate whose votes are lost, but it holds definite dangers for a changing society such as that of South Africa."
The FF Plus opposed floor-crossing "as a lonely voice in the wilderness" when the practice was introduced in 2002.
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"We warned against the dangers of this practice and pointed out that the will and votes of the electorate will be ignored by allowing this.
"It is, however, gladdening to see that the Democratic Alliance, which was formed as a result of this dishonourable practice, has seen the light and is now joining the FF Plus' fight to have the floor-crossing clauses scrapped," Mulder said.
Research proved the consequences of floor-crossing was that it made voters apathetic toward politics in general and politicians in particular.
By 2005, more than a million votes had been "abused" and lost as elected representatives crossed the floor to other parties.
"The current floor-crossing season is just once again proof that floor-crossing can result in bribery and fraud.
"The sooner the floor-crossing clauses are scrapped, as the FF Plus had been asking since the inception thereof, the sooner voters will be able to trust politicians again," Mulder said. - Sapa
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