Former Inkatha Freedom Party national chairman Dr Ziba Jiyane could soon bounce back into national parliament, this time under the banner of the fledgling National Democratic Convention.
Jiyane, whose party won four seats in the national assembly and four seats in the KwaZulu-Natal provincial parliament during the recent floor crossing window period, left the national parliament in 1995, before he quit politics two years later, amid strained relations between him and the IFP leadership.
He was elected as national chairman of the party by the party's rank and file at the IFP's national conference last year, only to quit a year later in the face of disciplinary charges after he had accused the IFP leadership of dictatorial practices.
A few weeks later, his party became the first beneficiary of the floor-crossing window period in KwaZulu-Natal when former ACDP MPL Hawu Mbatha dumped his party for Nadeco.
The party also welcomed three IFP MPLs - Antony Grinker, Professor Jabulani Maphalala and John Aulsebrook - to its fold.
In national parliament, Nadeco also netted what is considered to be a big fish, when former IFP MP Gavin Woods crossed to the party along with three other IFP MPs.
In an exclusive interview with the Daily News yesterday, Jiyane said he would be making an announcement soon about his return to national parliament as a Nadeco MP.
"I can confirm that there are efforts to get me back into national parliament. We will be making an announcement soon. We are currently exploring whether we can have an National Council of Provinces (NCOP) position which will allow one of Nadeco's MPs to take that position and free one seat in the National Assembly which will be taken by me," he said.
A party gets representation in the NCOP on the basis of its electoral strength in a provincial parliament. By Monday night it was not clear whether the party would get the seat in the NCOP. However, it would appear that since the IFP lost three MPs in KwaZulu-Natal, should Nadeco gets the seat, it would be at the IFP's expense.