Johannesburg - Could you put your election cross next to the Swagger People’s Convention? Or how about casting a vote for His Lordship to Save and Lead Party?
They may be catchy names to some people, downright ridiculous to others, but deadly serious to those who pay good money and wade through the paperwork and red tape to register their parties.
There are 200 parties registered for the upcoming local government elections and they range from the big players that everyone has come to know to the parties that next to nobody has heard of.
But the country is no stranger to party names of all kinds since all South Africans went to the polls in 1994. Some of the old favourites that have hung around include the Abolition of Income Tax and Usury Party, the Super Party, the Keep it Straight and Simple (Kiss) and even the Sport Party.
A quick look at the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) website shows a host of parties that catch the eye, such as the Sofasonke (We’ll die together) Party.
Names do matter - they need to reflect the times, be memorable, not ambiguous and sum up something relating to the mission of the party.
Even the ruling ANC had to go through a revamp of its name. Back in 1912 the organisation was called the South African Native National Congress. Today, 104 years later, the SANNC would simply not work.
A party name that sticks in people’s minds also needs to be an acronym that’s simple, memorable and not easily corruptible. Think about Cope becoming “no hope” for its detractors.
According to IEC spokeswoman Kate Bapela, parties have the right to register any name as long as they don’t have swear words, incite violence or contain hate speech.
Up to 44 parties have been rejected to date. Among them were the Dagga Party for South Africa and Guys of Delivery (G.O.D).
Saturday Star